Prim  it  ire  Man 


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ANTHROk 

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WITH  THE 

COMPLIMENTS  OF  THE  AUTHOR 


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KK;   I. — Head-dress  of    skeleton,   No.    248,   consisting  of  copper  antlers, 
Effigy  Mound,  Hopewell's  Group,  Ross  County,  Ohio.     See  page  194. 


PRIMITIVE    MAN 
IN    OHIO 


BY 


WARREN    K.   MOOREHEAD 

FKLLOW    OK    THE    AMERICAN    ASSOCIATION    FOR    THE    ADVANCEMRNT   OK    SCIENCE 

AUTHOR    OF    'k  FORT    ANCIENT,    THE    GREAT    1'REHISTORIC 

EARTHWORK    OF    OHIO,"    ETC. 


G.    P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS 

NEW    YORK  LONDON 

27    WEST   TWENTY-THIRD    STREET  24    BEDFORD    STREET,  STRAND 

&Ije  fmichcrbothtr  press 
1892 


COPYRIGHT,  1892 

BY 

WARRKN    K.    MOOREHEAD 


Electrotyped,  Printed,  and  Bound  by 

Tknicfecrbocfccr  press,  IRew 
G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


E74- 
O  3 


ANTHROP. 
LIBRARY 


PREFACE. 

FOR  many  years  the  great  majority  of  readers 
upon  American  archaeology  and  ethnology  have  be 
lieved  in  the  existence  throughout  the  Mississippi 
valley  of  a  nation  called,  for  want  of  a  better  name,1 
"  The  Mound  Builders."  Hasty  explorations  of  tu 
muli  and  enclosures  in  various  parts  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  valleys  have  been  made  by  those  desir 
ing  to  further  the  popular  belief.  Books  and  numer 
ous  articles  have  been  published  in  which  the 
imagination  was  permitted  to  range  unchecked. 
Statements  were  made  without  proper  authority, 
speculations  freely  indulged  in,  and  hypotheses  were 
built  upon  foundations  as  unstable  as  those  of  sand. 
As  a  natural  result,  many  persons  were  led  to  attrib 
ute  a  high  degree  of  civilization  to  the  mound- 
building  tribes  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Fine  relics 
or  carved  images  taken  from  the  mounds,  the  signifi 
cation  of  which  the  collector  could  not  satisfactorily 
explain,  were  accepted  as  evidence  in  support  of  the 
high  status  of  these  people.  In  spite  of  investiga 
tions  and  publications  upon  the  part  of  learned  insti 
tutions  and  private  individuals,  tending  to  dispel 
such  deceptions,  many  intelligent  people  still  retain 
false  impressions  while  reading  works  that  treat  of 
primitive  man. 

1  We  are  in  favor  of  employing  Dr.  D.  G.  Brinton's  term,  "  The  Ameri 
can  Race."     See  pp.  17  and  18,   The  American  Race,  New  Vork. 

iii 


IV  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  our  book  to  do  away  with 
certain  of  these  illusions.  In  attempting  this  we  are 
aware  that  a  herculean  task  has  been  undertaken. 
But  the  time  has  arrived  when  men  prefer  facts  to 
flights  of  fancy.  We  are  therefore  quite  confident 
that  our  material,  so  carefully  collected  and  thought 
fully  weighed,  w^ill  not  be  cast  aside  and  its  place 
usurped  by  the  rash  statements  of  hasty  and  incom 
petent  investigators.  Why  there  should  be  so  much 
speculation  and  uncertainty  concerning  the  life  of 
our  aborigines  is  inexplicable  to  us.  No  question  of 
equal  importance  could  have  been  more  easily  deter 
mined  had  the  early  writers  given  as  much  care  and 
patience  to  mound  exploration  as  is  given  at  the 
present  time. 

Some  writers  have  misrepresented  and  distort 
ed  field  testimony  to  uphold  theories  previously 
formed.  As  an  illustration  of  this,  and  of  the  great 
damage  that  it  has  done,  we  need  but  call  the  atten 
tion  of  our  readers  to  the  famous  "  Holy  Stone  "  of 
Newark. 

An  enthusiastic  archaeologist  resided  many  years 
ago  at  Newark,  Ohio.  He  was  thoroughly  in  love 
with  his  work,  and  his  life's  ambition  was  to  discover 
the  origin  of  man  upon  the  American  continent.  He 
believed  the  lost  ten  tribes  of  Israel  to  be  the  ances 
tors  of  the  mound-building  tribes.  After  opening 
mound  after  mound  and  finding  no  evidence  what 
ever  in  support  of  bis  hypothesis,  he  became  desper 
ate.  He  purchased  a  Hebrew  Bible  and  primer,  and 
shortly  afterwards  there  was  discovered  in  a  stone 
box,  in  a  mound  that  he  had  investigated,  a  slab,  on 


PREFACE.  V 

one  side  of  which  was  a  likeness  of  Moses,  and  on 
the  reverse  an  abridged  form  of  the  ten  command 
ments.  The  stone  attracted  world-wide  attention, 
and  many  publications  were  issued  describing  it.  No 
one  doubted  the  genuineness  of  the  affair  until  after 
the  man's  death.  In  cleaning  up  his  office  the 
administrator  found  in  a  small  rear  room  bits  of  slate 
with  attempts  at  carving  Hebrew  characters  upon 
them.  They  also  found  a  fair  copy  of  the  wood-cut 
of  Moses  used  as  a  frontispiece  in  the  testament. 

The  influence  of  this  over-zealous  deceiver  has 
gone  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land, 
and  one  may  still  hear  at  lectures  upon  American 
archaeology  statements  concerning  the  Indian's  de 
scent  from  the  Jew,  basing  such  assertions  upon 
the  testimony  of  the  supposed  "  Holy  Stone  of 
Newark,"  which,  as  is  above  shown,  was  simply  a 
counterfeit. 

The  moral  requires  no  explanation.  One  "popu 
lar  "  book  by  a  superficial  observer  has  a  bad  influ 
ence  and  does  more  harm  than  can  be  remedied  by 
much  honest  conscientious  endeavor  on  the  part  of 
workers  in  the  field.  Those  who  have  endured  the 
rains  of  spring,  the  heat  of  summer,  the  chilly  snows 
and  sleet  of  winter,  living  in  thin  tents  or  barn-like 
sheds  alongside  the  tumuli  that  must  be  studied  inch 
by  inch  with  pick  and  shovel,  have  a  right  to  cry 
out  in  honest  indignation  when  the  reports  of  men 
who  have  never  thrust  a  spade  into  the  structures 
they  attempt  to  describe  pretend  to  be  conclusive  on 
this  subject. 

Many  volumes  upon  American  archaeology  in  the 


VI  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

last  few  years  have  been  written  by  field  workers  and 
consequently  have  a  value  far  in  excess  of  previous 
publications.  Most  writers  seeni  to  agree  of  late  that 
the  various  tribes  and  clans  which  formerly  inhabited 
the  river  valleys  of  the  State  of  Ohio  were  alike  in 
color  and  general  habits,  having  certain  variations  in 
stature  common  to  all  races,  and  differing  in  many  of 
the  details  of  tribal  organization  and  domestic  life. 
Their  languages  were  unlike,  it  is  thought,  and  un 
doubtedly  they  warred  against  each  other. 

In  writing  a  complete  description  of  each  mound, 
repetitions  are  unavoidable.  A  mound  may  be  more 
or  less  like  its  fellow  structures,  and  our  desire  not 
to  overlook  any  detail  in  the  position  of  objects  and 
skeletons  has  led  us  to  follow  one  general  rule  in 
writing  the  report  of  mound  contents.  The  rule  is, 
"  Note  everything." 

No  attempt  is  made  to  give  any  description  of  the 
earthworks  found  in  the  different  parts  of  Ohio; 
such  an  effort  would  not  only  swell  a  volume  to 
unwieldy  proportions,  but  would  be  entirely  foreign 
to  our  purpose. 

In  every  excavation  careful  field  notes  were  made 
on  the  spot,  and  each  night  the  result  of  the  day's 
work  was  fully  written  out.  The  text  of  this  volume 
is  the  sum  of  those  records. 

The  total  number  of  mounds,  graves,  and  ceme 
teries  opened  during  the  four  seasons  of  exploration 
was  one  hundred  and  seven.  The  field  numbers  are 
retained  in  the  text,  when  necessary,  but  not  in  their 
regular  order,  as  some  portions  of  the  country  were 
worked  at  different  periods  during  the  years  in  which 


PREFACE.  VI 1 

excavations  have  been  made.  The  record  of  a  num 
ber  of  mounds  is  omitted,  as  they  contained  nothing 
that  would  instruct  or  interest  the  reader.  In  mounds 
of  small  dimensions  the  ready  access  of  water  and  air 
to  their  contents  will  sometimes  destroy  every  trace 
of  such  deposits  as  are  affected  by  these  agencies. 
Hence  a  mound,  which  as  constructed  would  prove 
of  great  interest,  may  in  the  course  of  time  appear 
only  as  a  homogeneous  mass  of  earth. 

During  all  the  years  described  herein  Mr.  Moore- 
head  had  general  charge  of  the  explorations. 

Mr.  Gerard  Fowke  has  contributed  Chapter  iv.  (on 
Flint  Kidge),  and  has  rendered  valuable  assistance 
both  in  the  field  and  in  the  preparation  of  this  book. 

Dr.  H.  T.  Cresson  also  assisted  in  the  preparation 
of  this  book,  and  spent  several  months  in  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  service  at  Anderson,  Ross  Co. 
The  sectional  drawings  and  ground-plans  of  the 
mounds  at  the  Hopewell  Group  are  copied  from  his 
pencil  studies  by  Mr.  Bennett,  who  has  illustrated 
the  book.  The  result  of  his  observations  upon  the 
osteological  collections  from  the  Little  Miami  and 
Scioto  valleys,  and  other  parts  of  Ohio,  together 
with  remarks  upon  palaeolithic  man,  have  been  incor 
porated  in  this  volume  under  Chapters  i.  and  xvn. 

To  Mr.  W.  H.  Davis,  of  Lowell,  Ohio,  we  are  in 
debted  for  Chapter  in.,  on  the  Muskingum  valley. 

Each  author  is  responsible  for  the  statements  set 
forth  in  his  department. 

Mr.  Jack  Bennett,  the  well-known  artist,  made  pen 
drawings  for  the  illustrations,  and  has  also  furnished 
notes  upon  the  bone  carvings. 


Vlll  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

To  the  Illustrated  American,  of  New  York,  we 
are  indebted  for  the  loan  of  four  cuts,  Figures  rv., 
xii.  A,  xix.,  and  xx. 

In  1888  Mr.  Clinton  Cowen  superintended  exca 
vations  in  Mr.  Moorehead's  absence,  and  in  1889  he 
assisted  in  surveying  Fort  Ancient. 

In  May  and  June,  1890,  Mr.  W.  E.  Myer  had 
charge  of  explorations  near  Wilmington,  Ohio. 

The  fanners  who  so  kindly  permitted  excavations 
to  be  carried  on  in  the  mounds  and  village  sites, 
have  greatly  aided  science.  Without  the  consent  of 
land-owners  work  cannot  be  projected,  and  hence 
nothing  learned  regarding  primitive  man  and  his 
associates.  In  this  volume  we  have  given  the  name 
and  owner  of  every  spot  examined. 

Conspicuous  among  the  farmers  who  introduced 
us  to  other  mound-owners  and  were  instrumental  in 
securing  permits  for  us  to  dig  are  the  following : 
Tighlmau  Porter,  Captain  C.  W.  McGinnis,  Strawder 
James,  and  Mr.  Coiner,  of  Frankfort ;  John  Boyle, 
of  Fayetteville  ;  Messrs.  Cowdin,  Ridge,  Poor,  Van 
Riper,  and  Nixon,  of  Fort  Ancient ;  Messrs.  Janes, 
Redman,  Fullerton,  Miller,  and  Madeira,  of  Chilli- 
cothe.  General  reference  only  is  made  to  the  finds 
of  the  Hopewell  group  of  mounds.  The  notes  taken 
in  1891  are  the  property  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition,  and  our  use  of  them  had  to  be  limited. 
Mi1.  Hiram  Taylor,  of  Oregonia,  has  our  thanks  for 
his  many  kindnesses. 

Mr.  Cloud  Hopewell,  owner  of  the  famous  works 
at  Anderson,  Ross  County,  kindly  allowed  the  sur 
vey  to  carry  on  explorations  to  an  unlimited  extent. 


PREFACE.  IX 

We  are  his  debtor  for  many  kindnesses  and  personal 
favors.  No  community  could  have  been  more  inter 
ested  in  archaeological  discoveries  than  the  citizens 
of  the  home  of  Messrs.  Squier  and.  Davis,  Chilli- 
cothe.  Old  residents  in  the  city  remember  well  the 
work  of  the  two  pioneers  just  named,  and  were  ac 
cordingly  anxious  to  witness  the  examination  of  the 
territory  so  ably  explored  by  them  nearly  half  a 
century  ago.  Younger  persons  hearing  their  elders 
speak  of  Squier  and  Davis  also  became  interested. 
For  the  cordiality  with  which  we  were  received, 
the  many  mounds  offered  us  for  inspection,  and  the 
general  desire  on  the  part  of  all  Chillicotheans  to 
aid  us  in  our  work,  we  acknowledge  our  great  in- 
debtedness  and  tender  in  return  our  most  sincere 
thanks  and  appreciation. 

WARREN  K.  MOOREHEAD. 

CHILLICOTHE,  OHIO, 
December,  1891. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

PAL/EOLITHIC  MAN  IN  OHIO  i 


CHAPTER    II. 
LICKING  COUNTY  AND  OPENING  REMARKS       .  n 

CHAPTER   III. 
THE  MUSKINGUM  VALLEY  FROM  MARIETTA  TO  ZANESVILLE,  20 

CHAPTER    IV. 
FLINT  RIDGE    .  .  30 

CHAPTER  V. 
MADISONVILLE  CEMETERY  49 

CHAPTER   VI. 
TUMULI  OF  THE  EAST  FORK  OF  THE  LITTLE  MIAMI  RIVER,  59 

CHAPTER  VII. 
EXCAVATIONS  IN  AND  AROUND  FORT  ANCIENT        .  80 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
GRAVES  OF  THE  VILLAGE  SITE  .  92 

CHAPTER  IX. 
EXPLORATIONS  IN  CLINTON  COUNTY        .  107 


•A(,E 


XI 1  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    X. 
EXCAVATIONS  AT  FRANKFORT,  Ross  COUNTY  113 

CHAPTER   XI. 
MOUND  NUMBER  THIRTY-KIT. HT  133 

CHAPTER    XII, 
EXCAVATIONS  NEAR  CHILLICOTHK  144 

CHAPTER   XI  LI. 
MOUNDS  NEAR  SLATE  MILLS,  Ross  COUNTY    .  158 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
MOUND  NUMBER  FORTY-THREE       .  168 

CHAPTER   XV. 
HOPEWELL'S  TUMULI  .  184 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
CONCLUSIONS    .  ,     197 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS  WITH  TABLE  OF  MEASUREMENTS,  204 

INDEX  243 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FIGURE  i. — Head-dress  of  skeleton  No.  248,  consisting  of 
copper  antlers.  Effigy  mound,  Hopewell's  Group, 
Ross  County  .....  Frontispiece 

FIGURE  n.  —  Series  of  Palaeolithic  implements    .  3 

FIGURE  in. — Ground  plan  of  mound  No.  i.  Skeleton 

surrounded  by  stone  slabs  .  .  .  .  .61 

FIGURE  iv. — Various  ceremonial  and  ornamental  objects, 

Miami  valley  ........  65 

FIGURE   v. — Vertical    section   of  mound   No.   6        .         .68 

FIGURE  vi. — Skeleton  lying  upon  altar  of  burnt  clay, 

mound  No.  6  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -73 

FIGURE  vn. — Group  oT  graves  at  Fort  Ancient,  Nos.  9  to 

1 8  inclusive  ........  83 

FIGURE  vm. — Unopened  stone  grave,  Taylor's  Farm,  Ore- 

gonia,  Warren  County  ....  faring  84 

FIGURE  ix. — Skeleton  from  stone  grave,  Oregon ia,  facing     86 

FIGURE  x. — Shell  ornaments  and  arrow-head  from  chil 
dren's  graves,  Fort  Ancient  .  .  .  .  .89 

FIGURE    xi. — Infants'  bones.     Stone  grave,  Fort   Ancient     91 

FIGURE  xn. — Fragments  of  decorated  pottery.  Lower 

village  site,  Fort  Ancient  .  .  .  .  -93 

FIGURE  XIIA. — Whole  pot  of  clay.  Lower  village  site, 

Fort  Ancient  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -97 

FIGURE    xm. — Animal  jaws  from  ash-pits,  Fort  Ancient     99 

FIGURE  xiv.  —  Bone  awls  and  scrapers  from  ash-pits,  Fort 

Ancient  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .TOO 

FIGURE  xv. — Celt,  ornaments,  and  ocre  from  terrace 

grave,  Fort  Ancient  .  .103 

FIGURE  xvi. — Ground  plan  of  Porter  mound,  No.  15         .119 


XIV  ILL  US  TRA  TIONS. 

PAGE 

FIGURE    xvn. — Skeleton  "  R  "  with  accompanying  objects 

from  Porter  mound,  No.  15  .  .  .  .123 

FIGURE  xvm. — Various  objects  from  Porter  mound,  No.  15  125 
FIGURE  xix. — Various  objects  from  Porter  mound,  No.  15  127 
FIGURE  xx. — Beads  and  panther  teeth  from  Porter  mound, 

No.  15  .  .         .         .         .         .         -130 

FIGURE  xxi. — Ground  plan  of  Porter  mound,  No.  38  .136 
FIGURE  xxn.— Copper  plates,  with  imprint  of  cloth  and 

copper  celt,  Porter  mound,  No.  38  .  .  .140 

FIGURE  xxm. — Ground  plan'  of  mound  No.  36,  fourteen 

skeletons  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .    147 

FIGURE  xxiv. — Vertical  section  of  mound  No.  36,  fourteen 

skeletons          .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .149 

FIGURE  xxv. — Femora,  with  seventeen  arrow-heads  in  rows 

along  each  side        ...          ....    151 

FIGURE  xxvi. — Two  tubes,  two  leaf-shaped  implements, 

two  finger  rings,  and  one  hematite  celt  from  mound 

No.  36     .........    152 

FIGURE  xxvn. — Displaced  skeleton  from  mound  No.  37  .  154 
FIGURE  xxvin. — Tablet,  bracelet,  spear-head,  and  beads 

from  mounds  Nos.  39  and  43  .  .  .  .  .156 
FIGURE  xxix. — Group  of  skeletons  from  mound  No.  45 

with  objects     ........   159 

FIGURE  xxx. — Hematite  cone,  bone  awl,  circular  disk 

and  broken  spear-head     .          .          .          .          .          .163 

FIGURE  xxxi. — Peculiar  construction  of  mound  No.  43  .166 
FIGURE  xxxn. — Peculiar  construction  of  mound  No.  43  .  171 
FIGURE  xxxni. — Two  cut  logs  and  point  of  pick  from 

mound  No.  43  .          .          .          .          .          .          .    175 

FIGURE  xxxiv. — Ground  plan  of  Hopewell's  mound  .  187 
FIGURE  xxxv. — 7,232  Flint  disks.  Largest  cache  of 

implements  known  to  archaeologists.  (Mr.  Moore- 
head's  quarters)  .....  facing  188 
FIGURE  xxxvi. — Skeleton  176  from  mound  No.  20.  The 

objects  are  unusually  numerous  and  unique  in  form,  191 
FIGURE  xxxvn. — Altar  from  mound  No.  18,  Hopewell's 

group facing  194 


ILL  US  TRA  TIONS.  XV 

HAG« 

FIGURE  xxxvin. — Stone  bowl  from  mound  No.  23,  Hope- 
well's  group  ......  facing  198 

FIGURE  xxxix. — Thirty-four  carved  bones  from  village 

site,  Hopewell's  group  ......  205 

FIGURE  XL. — Valuable  objects  from  the  mounds  of  the 

Hopewell  group  .  .  .  .  .  .  207 

FIGURE  XLI. — Copper  objects  and  mica  ornaments  from 
mound  No.  20.  The  copper  band  at  the  upper 
left  hand  corner,  surrounded  the  wrist  of  skeleton 
176  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  209 

FIGURE  XLII. — Flint  disks  from  mound  No.  2.  Hopewell's 
group.  The  only  "  shouldered  "  implements  of  the 
cache,  J-  size  .  .  .  .  .  .  .211 

FIGURE  XLIII. — Fourteen-inch  flint  dagger  from  Taylor's 
mound,  Oregonia,  and  copper  crescent,  mound  No. 
20,  Hopewell's  group  .  .  .  .  .  .213 

FIGURE  XLIV. — Large  Busycon  sea-shells,  Hopewell's 

group  .  .  .215 

FIGURE  XLV. — Two  skulls  and  three  lower  jaws.  Typical 

mound  crania,  from  Hopewell's,  Ross  Co.  facing  216 

FIGURE  XLVI. — Skull  from  Hopewell's  group     .       /.         .   217 

FIGURE  XLVII. — Skull,  side  view,  Fort  Ancient  stone  grave  218 

FIGURE  XLVIII. — Perforated  skull,  Hopewell's  group. 

Occipital  perforation  .  .  .  .  .220 

FIGURE  XLIX. — Fragments  of  crania  showing  low  facial 

angle,  Hopewell's  group  .  .  .  .  .222 

FIGURE  L. — Cut  human  jaws  and  perforated  cranial  bones, 

Hopewell's  group  ......  225 

FIGURE  LI.  —  Perforated  humeri  and  a  few  ulnae,  Hopt- 

well's  group  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  229 

FIGURE   LII. — Skull  sand  femora,  fragmentary,  Hopewell's   231 

FIGURE  LIII. — Fibulae  and   tibiae   from   Hopewell's   group  235 

FIGURE  LIV. — Fracture  of  head  of  humerus,  and  of  the 

ulnae  .  237 


PRIMITIVE   MAN    IN   OHIO. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PALAEOLITHIC    MAN    IN    OHIO. 

THE  labors  of  Professor  G.  Frederick  Wright,  of 
Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  have  been  of  great  importance 
in  connection  with  the  antiquity  of  man  in  America. 
He  has  traced  the  great  terminal  moraine  of  the 
northern  ice  sheet  across  Pennsylvania,1  thence  across 
Ohio,  Indiana,  and  far  beyond  the  Mississippi,  mak 
ing  besides  extensive  study  of  the  Muir  and  other 
glaciers  in  Alaska,  continuing  his  studies  of  glacial 
phenomena  even  so  far  as  the  Eastern  continent. 
He  has  shown 2  that  glacial  floods,  operating  while 
the  ice  remained  over  the  head  waters  of  streams, 
have  deposited  beds  of  drift  gravel  in  the  valleys 
of  southerly  flowing  rivers,  and  calls  attention  to 
the  similarity  of  these  beds  of  drift  gravel  to  those 
deposited  by  the  ice  floods  of  the  Delaware  valley, 
suggesting  that  they  be  carefully  examined  for 
evidences  of  palaeolithic  man. 

1  Professor  Wright  was  assisted  in  Pennsylvania  by  his  pupil,  Professor  H. 
C.  Lewis. 

2  The  Ice  Age  in  North  America,   G.  F.  Wright,  p.  528,  ct  al.     See  also 
Professor  Wright's  Report  of  the  Western  Reserve  Hist,  Soc. ,  p.  26. 

I 


2  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

"  Man  was  on  this  continent,"  says  Wright,  "  at 
that  period  when  the  climate  and  ice  of  Greenland 
extended  to  the  mouth  of  New  York  Harbor.  The 
probability  is  that,  if  he  was  in  New  Jersey  at 
that  time,  he  was  also  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
and  the  extensive  terrace  and  gravel  deposits  in  the 
southern  part  of  our  State  should  be  closely  scanned 
by  archaeologists.  When  observers  become  familiar  with 
the  rude  forms  of  these  palaeolithic  implements  they  will 
doubtless  find  them  in  abundance.  But  whether  we  find 
them  or  not  in  this  State  (Ohio),  if  you  admit,  as  I  am 
compelled  to  do,  the  genuineness  of  those  found  by 
Dr.  Abbott,  our  investigations  into  the  glacial  phenomena 
of  Ohio  must  have  an  important  archaeological  signifi 
cance,  for  they  bear  upon  the  question  of  the  chronology 
of  the  glacial  period,  and  so  upon  that  of  man's  appear 
ance  in  New  Jersey." 

This  prediction  that  traces  of  pre-glacial  man 
would  be  found  in  terraces  and  gravel  deposits  of 
southern  Ohio,  was  verified  later  on  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  held  Novem 
ber  4,  1885,  when  Professor  Putnam  displayed  a 
chipped  implement  of  black  flint  found  by  Dr. 
C.  L.  Metz  (Fig.  n.,  No.  1).  It  was  discovered 
eight  feet  below  the  surface,  at  Madisonville,  Ohio. 
This  is  the  first  announcement  of  the  finding  of 
a  palseolith  in  the  gravels  of  Ohio.  The  town  of 
Madisonville  is  situated  about  eleven  miles  north 
east  of  Cincinnati,  about  five  miles  back  from  the 
Ohio  River.  The  Little  Miami,  on  its  way  to  join 
the  Ohio,  passes  through  the  valley  of  the  same 
name  about  three  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Madison 
ville,  the  town  standing  in  a  depression  between 


4  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

this  stream  and  that  of  Mill  Creek,  which  empties 
below  Cincinnati.  This  depression  is  surrounded 
by  hills  rising  above  the  river  and  is  filled  by  a 
deposit  of  gravel,  sand,  and  loam  belonging  to  the 
glacial  terrace  epoch.  At  Red  Bank,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Little  Miami  River,  several  miles  from 

Madisouville,  the  travel  is  interstratified  with  sand 

<_> 

and  underlaid  with  clay,  being  overlaid  by  a  thin 
deposit  of  loess.  Farther  to  the  west  of  Madison- 
ville  beds  of  loess  exist  -  eight  feet,  and  even  more,  in 
thickness,  and  the  gravels  disappear.  The  gravel 
terraces  of  the  Little  Miami  show  that  it  was  an 
important  outlet  of  waters  during  the  glacial  epoch, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  this  small  valley  in 
which  Madisonville  stands,  connecting  the  last- 
named  river  with  Mill  Creek,  has  been  filled  in  by 
deposits  brought  down  by  turbulent  floods  from 
the  north. 

It  was  just  below  the  loess  in  the  gravel  that 
fills  the  small  valley  which  we  have  referred  to, 
that  Dr.  Metz  discovered  his  implement  at  Madison 
ville. 

A  chipped  limestone  pebble  was  also  discovered 
northeast  of  Madisonville  by  Dr.  Metz,  at  Loveland, 
Ohio,  in  1887.  It  was  in  similar  deposits  to  that  of 
his  first  find,  but  lay  at  a  great  depth,  nearly  thirty 
feet  from  the  surface.  Bones  of  the  mastodon  have 
been  found  to  the  west  side  of  the  gravel  pit  in 
which  the  palaeolith  was  discovered. 

Several  years  after  the  last  find  which  we  have 
mentioned,  a  pala^olith  was  discovered  in  the 


Ice  Age  in  North  America,  G.  F.  Wright,  p.  532, 


PALAEOLITHIC  MAN  IN  OHIO.  5 

terrace  gravels    at   New   Comerstown,  Tuscarawas 
County,  Ohio,  a  small  village  which  stands  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Tuscarawas  River  (Fig.  n.,  No.  3). 
Mr.  W.  C.  Mills  in  describing  his  find z  says : 

"  In  the  northern  part  of  the  town  .  .  .  is  a  large 
gravel  terrace,  deposited  in  a  recess  near  the  mouth  of 
Buckhorn  Creek  and  derived  from  northern  drift.  For 
several  years  past  the  Cleveland  and  Marietta  Railway 
Company  have  been  taking  out  this  gravel  in  large  quan 
tities,  which  they  used  in  ballasting  their  railroad,  and  so 
have  kept  the  gravel  exposed  to  the  depth  of  about 
twenty-five  feet.  The  top  of  the  terrace  is  about  thirty- 
five  feet  above  the  flood  plane  of  the  Tuscarawas  and 
extends  up  the  Buckhorn  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
gradually  diminishing  in  height  as  it  recedes  from  the  main 
line  of  deposition.  In  this  gravel  bank,  on  the  2/th  day 
of  October,  1889,  while  examining  the  different  strata  of 
the  gravel,  I  found  the  specimen  that  you  have  before 
you,  fifteen  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  terrace.  The  bank 
was  almost  perpendicular  at  this  time,  exposing  a  front  of 
about  twenty  feet.  The  small  part  of  the  bank  was  in 
place  in  the  side  of  the  terrace,  until  I  struck  it  with  my 
walking-cane,  when  a  space  of  about  six  feet  in  length  by 
two  feet  in  height  tumbled  down,  exposing  to  view  the 
specimen.  At  first  I  recognized  the  peculiar  shape  and 
glossy  appearance  of  the  specimen,  such  as  were  charac 
teristic  of  palaeolithic  specimens  described  to  me  by  Pro 
fessor  Edward  Orton,  while  I  was  a  student  at  the  Ohio 
State  University." 

Mr.  Mills  then  compared  the  object  which  he 
had  found  with  other  flint  implements  collected  in 
the  valley  of  the  Tuscarawas,  amounting  to  at  least 

1  Discovery  of  a  Palaeolithic  Implement  at  New  Comerstown,  Ohio,  by  G. 
F.  Wright,  LL.D.,  in  Report  of  Western  Reserve  Hist.  Soc.,  Dec.  12, 
1890.  Account  by  W.  C.  Mills. 


6  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  onto. 

three  thousand  chipped  specimens  taken  from 
mounds  and  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  None  of 
the  specimens  in  his  collection,  however,  resembled 
it.  He  then  requested  Mr.  A.  A.  Graham,  secretary 
of  the  Ohio  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,  to 
forward  the  specimen  to  Professor  Wright  for  exam 
ination,  who  at  once  recognized  it  as  a  true  palseolith, 
having  a  striking  resemblance  to  those  which  are 
found  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  in  northern  France. 
Professor  G.  Frederick  Wright  in  speaking  of  the 
Tuscarawas  palseolith l  says  : 

"  As  is  to  be  expected,  however,  the  material  from  which 
the  implement  is  made  is  of  local  origin,  and  differs  much 
in  appearance  from  that  of  the  French  implement.  Upon 
showing  this  specimen  from  New  Comerstown  to  my  asso 
ciate,  Professor  Albert  A.  Wright,  who  did  much  work 
upon  the  State  Geological  Survey,  in  Holmes  County, 
immediately  adjoining  Tuscarawas,  he  at  once  recognized 
the  material  as  a  black  flint,  or  chert,  which  occurs  with 
much  frequency  in  the  '  Lower  Mercer'  limestone  strata, 
an  exposure  of  which  passes  through  the  eastern  part  of 
Holmes  County,  and  he  was  able  at  once  to  go  to  his 
drawer  and  produce  the  accompanying  specimen,  which 
he  brought  home  from  that  vicinity  several  years  ago." 

The  same  authority  gives  a  most  complete 
description  of  the  Tuscarawas  implement  in  the 
New  York  Nation  of  April  24,  1890. 

"  The  flint  implement  referred  to  is  a  perfect  representa 
tive  of  the  palaeolithic  type  of  northern  France  and 
southern  England.  It  is  four  inches  long,  two  inches 
wide,  and  an  inch  and  a  half  through  at  its  larger  end, 

1  Paper  by  G.  Frederick  Wright,  LL.D.,  in  Rep.  of  Western  Reserve 
Hist.  Soc.,  Dec.  12,  1890.  Tract  No  75. 


PALEOLITHIC  MAN  IN  OHIO.  7 

tapering  gradually  to  a  point,  and  carefully  chipped  to 
an  edge  all  around.  Figure  472  in  Evans'  Ancient  Stone 
Implements  of  Great  Britain  would  pass  for  a  very  good 
representation  of  it  [See  Fig.  II.,  No.  3,  in  this  work].  The 
material  is  black  flint,  or  chert,  such  as  occurs  in  the  '  Lower 
Mercer  '  limestone  strata,  not  many  miles  away,  and  has 
upon  its  surface  the  peculiar  glazed  appearance  which 
indicates  considerable  age." 

A  distinction  must  be  made  between  the  term 
glazed  appearance  or  glossiness  of  surface  and  what 
is  technically  known  as  the  patina.  The  palaeo 
lithic  implements  of  France  and  England  are  gen 
erally  made  of  flint  very  compact  in  grain,  which 
is  found  in  the  chalk  deposits  of  those  countries. 
Glossiness  of  surface  may  be  due  in  a  great  measure 
to  long-continued  use,  and  there  is  but  little  doubt 
that  chemical  causes  may  also  add  to  its  smooth  sur 
face.  Patina  is  due  to  the  infiltration  of  certain  sub 
stances  through  the  beds  in  which  the  palgeolith  had 
been  deposited,  this  action  partially  dissolving  the 
substance  of  the  flint. 

New  Comerstown  is  situated  upon  the  right  bank 
of  the  Tuscarawas  River,  forty  miles  south  of  the 
glacial  boundary  of  Ohio.  The  latter  part  of  the 
journey  from  the  north  to  reach  the  place  is  so  com 
plete  a  demonstration  of  the  now  accepted  theory 
concerning  the  origin  of  the  terraces  along  this  river, 
and  others  similarly  situated,  that  a  brief  description 
of  it  will  be  profitable. 

"  The  head  waters  both  of  the  Tuscarawas  itself  and  of 
the  several  branches  which  unite  with  it  before  reaching 
Canal  Dover,  are  all  within  the  glaciated  area,  thus  afford- 


8  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

ing  access  to  an  unlimited  quantity  of  debris  brought  by 
the  continental  ice  sheet  from  the  Laurentian  region  in 
Canada.  Immediately  below  the  glacial  boundary  all 
these  streams  are  bordered  with  extensive  terraces,  the 
material  of  which  consists  of  assorted  matter  from  the 
glacial  drift,  such  as  would  naturally  have  been  carried 
during  the  closing  turbulent  floods  of  the  glacial 
period. 

"  From  Canal  Dover  to  New  Comerstown  the  Tuscara- 
was  River  makes  a  bend  to  the  east,  but  the  railroad  cuts 
across  the  elbow,  and  for  twenty  miles  or  more  finds  its 
way  through  two  small  valleys  tributary  to  the  main  line 
of  drainage.  The  course  of  the  railroad  first  strikes  up 
the  valley  of  Stone  Creek,  following  it  for  several  miles, 
but  no  sooner  does  it  enter  this  tributary  valley  than  it 
leaves  behind  the  terraces  and  other  gravel  deposits  which 
mark  the  main  valley  and  every  tributary  farther  north. 
At  length  the  road,  after  passing  through  a  tunnel,  strikes 
into  the  head  waters  of  Buckhorn  Creek,  which  runs  south 
ward  to  join  the  Tuscarawas  at  New  Comerstown.  Here, 
too,  for  several  miles,  there  is  a  total  absence  of  terraces 
or  any  deposit  of  gravel.  On  approaching  the  mouth  of 
the  creek,  however,  a  vast  gravel  deposit,  derived  from 
the  northern  drift,  is  encountered,  in  which  the  railroad 
company  is  making  extensive  excavations  to  get  material 
for  ballasting  their  track.  Thus,  in  this  short  journey 
there  was  demonstrated  before  our  eyes  the  limitation  of 
these  gravel  deposits  to  the  main  valley  of  the  river,  and 
so  by  consequence  their  glacial  age  and  origin. 

"  A  glance  at  the  physical  features  of  the  region  in 
Ohio  and  Indiana  where  these  palaeoliths  have  been  found, 
shows  their  eminent  adaptation  to  the  primitive  conditions 
of  life  indicated  by  the  implements  themselves.  The 
Tuscarawas  valley  has  been  formed  by  erosion  through 
the  parallel  strata  of  sandstone  and  limestone  here  com 
posing  the  coal  formation.  The  summits  of  the  hills  on 
either  side  rise  to  the  heights  of  from  300  to  500  feet,  and 


PALEOLITHIC  MAN   IN   OHIO.  9 

their  perpendicular  faces  abound  even  now  with  commo 
dious  shelters  for  primitive  man,  but  in  pre-glacial  times 
the  trough  of  the  Tuscarawas  was  175  feet  deeper  than  at 
present,  that  amount  of  glacial  gravel  having  been  de 
posited  along  the  bottom,  thus  raising  it  to  its  present 
level.  Hence,  in  pre-glacial  times  the  opportunities  for 
shelter  must  have  been  much  superior  even  to  those 
which  are  now  in  existence." 


Just  as  early  man  in  the  Old  World  had  to  con 
tend  with  ferocious  brutes,  such  as  the  terrible 
machairodus,  with  its  keen,  dagger-like  tusks,  and 
the  mammoth,  so  did  our  primitive  American  race 
have  to  contend  with  huge  jaguars  and  bears  larger 
and  more  formidable  than  those  of  the  present  day. 
These  were  not  the  only  animals  that  they  battled 
with  in  their  struggle  for  existence ;  the  mastodon, 
the  megatherium,  the  mylodon,  the  megalonyx,  and 
the  elephant  had  to  be  attacked  with  wretched 
weapons  of  stone,  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary 
food  for  subsistence.  Naked  and  wretched  as  primi 
tive  man  was,  he  triumphed  over  the  trials  and 
dangers  that  beset  him,  and  his  descendants  grad 
ually  increased  until  they  were  to  be  numbered 
almost  as  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  again  to  disappear 
as  these  solitudes  were  cleared  away  by  the  axes 
of  the  hardy  American  pioneers. 

Attention  has  been  called  in  this  chapter  to  traces 
of  man's  occupancy  of  America  at  different  epochs, 
viz. : 

1st,  in  times  so  remote  that  we  cannot  appreciate 
its  vast  antiquity  or  approximate  to  it  by  any  time 
measure. 


IO  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

2d,  when  the  glacial  terraces  were  in  process  of 
deposition,  these  primitive  beings  having  been  asso 
ciated  with  the  period  when  the  great  glacier  came 
down  from  the  north.  Here  we  find  traces  of  a 
people  who  built  rude  hearths  upon  the  surfaces  of 
the  terraces  along  the  banks  of  rivers,  and  it  may 
be  about  the  same  period,  or  even  in  more  recent 
times,  erected  imposing  mounds  and  earthworks 
upon  them. 

These  primitive  men,  to  whom  we  especially  refer, 
were  a  part  of  the  American  race  that  once  dwelt  in 
what  is  now  called  Ohio,  a  description  of  whose 
remains  is  given  in  the  ensuing  chapters. 


CHAPTER  II. 

LICKING    COUNTY    AND    OPENING    REMARKS. 

MESSRS.  SQUIER  AND  DAVIS  in  their  volume, 
Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  have 
given  a  series  of  surveys  of  earthworks  and  enclos 
ures,  mounds  and  fortifications,  which,  taken  as  a 
whole,  is  sufficiently  accurate  to  follow.  There  are 
certain  of  the  more  important  structures  which  have 
been  resurveyed  with  improved  instruments,  and 
hence  the  maps  that  have  been  made  of  Fort 
Ancient,  the  Serpent  Mound,  and  Fort  Hill  are 
more  accurate  and  correct  in  detail.  Assuming 
that  every  one  is  more  or  less  interested  in  American 
archaeology  and  familiar  with  Squier  and  Davis' 
book,  we  shall  proceed  at  once  to  the  tumuli,  graves, 
and  village  sites  which  were  explored  between  the 
months  of  June,  1885,  and  October,  1890,  taking  it 
for  granted  that  reference  on  the  part  of  the  reader 
to  the  maps  in  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Valley  will  establish  the  location  of  our 
excavations.  Reference  has  been  made  to  the  plates 
in  the  above-mentioned  work,  and  overlooking  all 

'  O 

small  errors  that  may  have  resulted  from  careless 
ness  or  inferior  measuring  instruments,  we  would 
emphatically  say  that,  in  our  estimation,  no  work  of 

ii 


12  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN   OHIO. 

recent  times  has  approached  that  of  Messrs.  Squier 
and  Davis  in  the  accuracy  and  numbers  of  maps  set 
forth.  We  know,  from  excavations  and  our  own 
surveys,  that  in  the  truthfulness  of  their  reports 
they  frequently  have  been  over-cautious  and  mod 
erate  in  their  enumerations  of  finds  in  order  to  keep 
entirely  within  the  bounds  of  truth.  Frequently  in 
trenching  mounds  previously  explored  by  them,  we 
found  shafts  they  had  sunk  from  the  summit,  and, 
by  following  the  disturbed  earth  into  hard  layers 
near  the  base,  were  able  to  discern  the  pick  and 
mattock  strokes  still  plain  on  the  sides  of  the  exca 
vation.  While  we  do  not  desire  to  give  countenance 
to  their  conclusions,  and  believe  much  of  their  work 
to  have  been  hastily  projected,  yet  we  are  confident 
of  the  very  grave  errors  committed  by  those  who 
have  endeavored  to  prove  them  untruthful  and 
grossly  inaccurate.  So  much  for  Squier  and  Davis, 
and  our  reasons  for  hereafter  referring  to  their  maps. 
In  the  valley  of  the  Muskingum  River  and  its 
tributaries  there  are  numerous  evidences  of  the 
existence  of  aboriginal  man.  From  the  Muskingum 
eastward,  through  Ohio,  there  are  but  few  mounds 
and  village  sites,  the  country  being  very  hilly  and 
broken,  the  soil,  as  a  rule,  poor,  when  compared 
with  other  sections  of  the  State.  But  in  the  prox 
imity  of  the  Ohio  River,  from  Pittsburg  to  Cincin 
nati,  there  are  numerous  tumuli,  village  sites,  and 
earthworks.  When  we  consider  the  great  fertility 
of  the  soil  nearest  the  Ohio  and  of  the  valleys  of  its 
principal  tributaries,  we  are  not  surprised  that 
primitive  man  should  have  chosen  to  live  in  places 


LICKING   COUNTY  AND   OPENING  REMARKS.         13 

where  all  conditions  were  most  favorable  for  him  to 
cultivate  corn,  beans,  and  tobacco,  rather  than  to 
dwell  amongst  the  high  and  gloomy  hills,  where 
tangled  underbrush  and  the  irregularities  of  the 
surface  would  impede  his  progress  while  in  pursuit 
of  game.  Before  speaking  of  the  Muskingum  val 
ley,  at  length,  we  would  say  it  is  evident  that  in 
the  southern  portion  of  the  State  he  has  left  scarcely 
any  traces  of  occupancy.  We  refer  to  a  region 
known  as  the  "  Sunfish  Hills,"  which  extend  be 
tween  Portsmouth  and  Georgetown  on  the  south, 
Chillicothe  and  Hillsboro  on  the  north  and  south. 
The  valley  of  Brush  Creek,  however,  which  passes 
directly  through  the  Sunfish  Hills,  has  some  evi 
dence  of  his  existence — the  Serpent  Mound,  Fort 
Hill,  several  village  sites,  and  a  few  mounds, — all  of 
which  were  described  by  Professor  F.  W.  Putnam  in 
the  Century  Magazine  of  March  and  April,  1890. 

In  Muskingum  and  Licking  counties  we  also 
note  a  scarcity  of  mounds  in  the  hilly  sections.  Near 
Rix  Mills,  in  Muskingum  County,  are  three  small 
mounds,  all  placed  upon  high  points  of  land ;  none 
of  these  are  more  than  six  feet  in  height,  and  their 
exploration  yielded  nothing  of  interest  or  value,  a 
few  skeletons  only,  being  found  within  them.1 

In  Licking  County  no  large  mounds  are  found 
back  of  the  watercourses.  As  we  have  noted  in 
Muskingum  County,  there  are  a  few  small  mounds, 
scattered  here  and  there,  occupying  prominent 
points  upon  the  highest  hills.  In  all  elevated 
regions  throughout  the  State  we  find  these  small 

1  Explored  in  June,  1882. — W.  K.  M. 


14  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN   OHIO. 

isolated  mounds.  Excavations  show  them  to  be  so 
unimportant  that  they  cannot  be  classed  with  the 
great  works  of  the  Miami,  Scioto,  and  Muskingum 
valleys.  The  water-sheds  between  the  rivers  just 
named  contain  more  of  the  small  mounds  referred 
to  than  the  Sunfish  Hills  or  the  elevations  of  the 
coal  regions.  Some  of  the  hill-top  mounds  will  be 
described  in  Chapter  III. 

The  northern  portion  of  the  State  is  singularly 
deficient  in  mounds  and  earthworks.  A  line  drawn 
from  Darke  and  Shelby  counties  on  the  west,  to 
Columbia  County  on  the  east,  represents  the  farthest 
extension  northward  of  the  mound  groups.  We  are 
aware  that  some  of  the  valleys  of  the  northern  tribu 
taries  of  the  Miami,  Scioto,  and  Muskingum  rivers 
contain  mounds,  and  we  cannot  overlook  the  exist 
ence  of  scattered  mounds  in  the  Maumee,  Sandusky, 
Vermilion,  Cuyahoga,  and  Grand  River  valleys. 
There  are  many  fertile  tracts  and  localities  in  the 
northern  part  of  Ohio  which  aborigines,  in  all  prob 
ability,  would  have  found  desirable  for  village  sites. 
Why  primitive  man  should  have  left  scarcely  any 
traces  in  the  counties  near  Lake  Erie  we  do  not 
know.  Indians  in  historic  times  (Shawnees,  Dela- 
wares,  Wyandots,  Eries,  and  Mingoes)  inhabited  the 
shores  of  this  lake,  and  a  few  villages  of  greater  an 
tiquity  than  those  left  by  the  tribes  just  named  have 
been  discovered  in  the  vicinity  of  Toledo,  Sandusky, 
and  Kelley's  Island.  In  Allen,  Hardin,  Marion,  and 
Morrow  counties  the  country  is  quite  flat. 

Before  the  advent  of  white  settlers  who  have 
ditched,  tiled,  and  drained  thousands  of  square 


LICKING   COUNTY  AND   OPENING  REMARKS.         15 

miles  of  land,  an  enormous  swamp  belt  extended 
through  the  counties  named.  The  forest  growth  is 
excessively  heavy,  even  at  the  present  day,  and,  so 
far  as  we  are  aware,  the  region  in  early  times  was 
not  only  unhealthy  but  practically  uninhabitable. 
There  seems  to  be  a  considerable  number  of  tumuli 
and  village  sites  at  the  head  of  the  Cuyahoga  and 
Muskingum  rivers  in  Wayne,  Stark,  and  Portage 
counties.  From  an  inspection  of  village  sites  in  the 
counties  just  named,  along  the  Mauinee  River  to  the 
west,  and  in  Wyandot  County  near  the  head  waters 
of  the  Sandusky  River,  we  are  quite  positive  in  our 
assertion  that  only  roving  bands,  who  may  or  may 
not  have  been  related  to  the  great  mound-building 
nations  of  the  south,  moved  frequently  from  one 
place  to  another,  remaining  perhaps  only  a  few 
months  in  a  spot.  They  did  not  manufacture  fine 
implements  of  stone  and  flint  or  construct  large 
mounds ;  with  the  exception  of  a  few  circles  discov 
ered  here  and  there,  they  built  no  forfifications.  The 
evidence  of  aboriginal  man  in  this  portion  of  the 
State  is  so  scattered  and  of  such  a  limited  character 
that  we  do  not  care  to  theorize  in  regard  to  the 
movements  of  those  clans  living  near  Lake  Erie. 
We  shall  treat  largely  of  the  early  people  who  dwelt 
in  three  river  valleys  toward  the  south,  and  although 
referring  in  a  general  sense  to  the  men  of  the  lake 
region,  yet  we  think  there  is  sufficient  evidence  to 
say  that  they  were  much  inferior  to  their  neighbors. 
The  village  sites  examined  upon  the  Maumee  River 
yielded  quantities  of  burnt  bones,  fragments  of  pot 
tery,  a  few  awrls,  celts,  and  ornaments.  Finer  objects, 


1 6  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

such  as  carved  pipes  and  copper  implements,  were 
not  present.  The  graves  were  constructed  in  the 
sand-banks  of  the  river,  and  the  bodies,  judging 
from  their  nearness  to  the  surface,  were  hastily  and 
carelessly  buried. 

In  the  summers  of  1885  and  1886  a  considerable 
amount  of  work  was  done  upon  the  village  sites  and 
mounds  in  the  neighborhood  of  Granville,  Licking 
County,  and  at  Flint  Ridge,  ten  miles  to  the  south 
east.  The  town  is  situated  in  a  valley  a  mile  in 
width.  Raccoon  Creek  traverses  the  valley,  empty 
ing  into  the  Licking  River  a  short  distance  south  of 
the  city  of  Newark.  The  valley  from  Newark  north 
ward,  for  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  is  dotted  here  and 
there  with  mounds  on  the  second  and  third  terraces. 
The  great  earthworks  known  as  the  "  Newark  Fair- 
Ground  Enclosures,"  and  described  upon  pages  67 
to  73  of  Squier  and  Davis'  volume,  the  fortified  hill 
two  miles  northeast  of  Granville,1  and  the  so-called 
Alligator  Mound  2  are  all  within  a  mile  of  the  banks 
of  Licking  River. 

A  very  hilly  region  lying  to  the  north  called  the 
"Welsh  Hills  "  contains  a  few  hill-top  mounds,  but 
no  enclosures.  Two  miles  east  of  Granville,  within 
sight  of  the  famous  Opossum  Mound  referred  to 
above,  there  is  a  large  village  site  covering  from  fif 
teen  to  sixteen  acres  of  ground.  It  is  upon  the 
second  creek  terrace,  with  its  greatest  diameter  east 
and  west.  The  terrace  lies  thirty  feet  higher  than 

1  Plate  ix.,  p.  24,  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

2  It  is  our  opinion  that  this  structure  represents  an  opossum  rather  than 
an  alligator. 


LICKING   COUNTY  AND   OPENING  REMARK'S.         I/ 

the  first  or  latest,  and  its  edge  is  distant  three  hun 
dred  yards  from  the  water.  Through  the  first  ter 
race  flows  the  creek,  and,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  no 
implements  or  arms  have  been  found  lower  than  the 
second  terrace. 

The  habitations  of  the  village  site  were  circular, 
but  we  do  not  attempt  to  say  they  were  occupied 
for  any  great  length  of  time.  The  ash-pits  discov 
ered  within  the  circles  of  burnt  earth  were  of  little 
depth,  and  the  amount  of  animal  bones  found  was 
far  less  than  those  of  the  great  villages  of  the  Miami 
and  Scioto  valleys.  The  village  site  in  question 
was  probably  occupied  during  the  summer  months 
by  tribes  whose  home  was  lower  down  in  the  Mus- 
kingum  valley,  and  here  they  fashioned  implements 
of  flint.  The  distance  in  a  straight  line  from  the 
flint  quarries  on  the  ridge  is  but  ten  miles.  Numer 
ous  broken  and  unfinished  arrow-heads,  thousands 
of  flint  chips,  flakes,  cores,  and  hundreds  of  large 
blocks  of  raw  material  lie  scattered  over  the  surface. 
The  beautiful  colors  so  common  in  the  chalcedony 
of  Flint  Ridge — blue,  pink,  red,  yellow,  and  pure 
white — are  noticeable  in  many  of  the  specimens. 
No  pestles  and  bat  few  celts  were  picked  up.  Stone 
hammers,  both  grooved  and  ungrooved,  portions  of 
elk  and  deer  antlers,  and  numerous  broken  stones, 
discovered  upon  spots  where  the  chipping  was  car 
ried  to  the  greatest  degree,  gave  indisputable  evi 
dence  of  the  object  of  the  location  of  the  village. 
A  great  many  fragments  of  pottery,  resembling 
those  in  the  Muskingum  valley  nearer  the  Ohio 
River,  occurred  in  the  ash-pits,  and  led  us  to 


1 8  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

conclude  that  tribes  living  at  no  great  distance  had 
occupied  the  lodges. 

One  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Granville  is  a 
larger  village  site.  It  occupies  a  hillside  to  the 
south  of  the  creek,  and  is  distant  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  stream.  From  an  examination  of  the 
spot  we  conclude  it  to  have  been  occupied  during 
summer  and  winter.  Both  pestles  and  grooved 
axes  have  been  found,  and  it  is  therefore  probable 
that  corn  was  raised  in  quantities.  There  are  some 
mortars  at  the  top  of  large  glacial  drift  bowlders 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  we  know  that  mortars 
were  extensively  used  for  maize  grinding.  A  few 
flint  flakes  and  chips  exist  upon  the  surface.  Burnt 
stones  are  to  be  found  in  large  quantities,  together 
with  broken  animal  bones  and  ashes,  marking  the 
position  of  each  family  lodge.  Pottery  is  also  found 
everywhere,  and  is  of  the  rougher,  undecorated 
kind,  moulded,  while  in  a  plastic  state,  within  rush 
baskets,  as  it  retains  upon  its  outer  surface  the 
imprint  of  the  reeds. 

Professor  Appey  has  opened  quite  a  number  of 
mounds  in  Licking  County.  His  finds  have  been  of 
a  different  character  from  those  made  in  other 
portions  of  the  State.  We  believe  that  ornaments 
of  slate  occur  in  mounds  in  the  vicinity  of  Granville 
and  Newark,  if  the  reports  of  those  examined  are  to 
be  relied  upon,  as  they  undoubtedly  are.  No  altars 
and  scarcely  any  copper,  but  few  shell  ornaments, 
and  few,  if  any,  Busycons  have  been  taken  from  the 
mounds  of  this  region.  The  skeletons,  as  a  rule 

O  ' 

are  well  preserved.     Many  of  them  are  accompanied 


LICKING   COUNTY  AND   OPENING  REMARKS.         19 

by  beads  and  bone  awls,  and,  occasionally,  pipes. 
The  entire  skeleton  of  a  bison  was  found  by  Pro 
fessor  Appey  in  a  large  tumulus,  associated  with 
human  remains,  but  we  have  no  details  of  the 
discovery. 

Raccoon  Creek  valley  (  partly  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Granville,  as  previously  mentioned)  contains  many 
mounds,  all  of  them  smaller  than  the  average  Ross 
County  tumuli.  Primitive  man  here  seems  to  have 
devoted  most  of  his  time  to  the  working  of  flint 
implements,  and  probably  lived  chiefly  by  exchange 
with  the  tribes  who  came  from  a  distance  to  secure 
the  superior  chalcedonys  of  Flint  Ridge. 

There  is  quite  a  large  village  eight  miles  north 
west  from  Granville,  near  the  banks  of  Raccoon 
Creek.  The  stream  opposite  the  village  is  very 
small,  and  we  think  there  are  no  habitation  sites  of 
more  than  ten  or  fifteen  lodges  in  extent  farther  up. 
The  site  just  mentioned  must  have  accommodated 
forty  or  fifty  tepees.  The  debris  upon  the  surface 
is  identical  with  that  of  the  town  upon  the  south 
side  of  the  creek,  one  mile  and  a  half  above  Gran 
ville. 

As  will  be  seen  in  the  following  chapter  (  which 
treats  of  the  remainder  of  the  Muskingum  valley  ), 
the  village  sites  and  contents  of  the  mounds  are 
largely  similar  in  character.  Undoubtedly  the  whole 
valley  was  occupied  by  the  same  race,  and  this  race, 
according  to  cranial  peculiarities,  is  called  the 
dolicocephalic  stock. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    MUSKLNGUM    VALLEY,    FROM    MARIETTA    TO 
ZANESVILLE. 

ALTHOUGH  the  Muskingum  valley  is  undoubtedly 
very  rich  in  prehistoric  remains,  but  little  work  has 
yet  been  done  to  ascertain  facts  pertaining  to  the 
life  of  those  primitive  men  who  once  dwelt  along  its 
beautiful  shores.  We  can  assign  no  reason  for  our 
limited  knowledge  concerning  its  pre-Columbian 
inhabitants,  unless  it  be  that  investigators  followed 
too  closely  in  the  footsteps  of  Squier  and  Davis. 
These  gentlemen  confined  their  attentions  largely  to 
the  Scioto  and  Miami  valleys. 

Mr.  Fowke's  observations  upon  Flint  Ridge,  Mr. 
Davis'  remarks  concerning  the  mounds  and  village 
sites  lying  between  Zanesville  and  Marietta,  Dr. 
Cresson's  study  of  the  crania,  and  Mr.  Moorehead's 
brief  sojourn  in  the  valley  may  give  the  reader  an 
idea  of  the  domestic  life  of  the  long-heads  who  pre 
dominated  in  eastern  Ohio.  It  is  very  interesting 
to  note  that  the  short-headed  people  did  not  monopo 
lize  the  Muskingum  valley  as  they  did  the  Scioto 
and  Miami  regions.  Dr.  Cresson  believes  from  his 
study  of  the  crania  of  this  region  that  the  dolico- 
cephali  predominated,  and  as  among  other  people  of 

20 


THE  MUSKINGUM    VALLEY.  21 

this  type  were  not  competent  to  hold  their  own  in 
intellect  and  attainments  in  the  art  of  implement- 
making  and  in  the  construction  of  mounds  and 
fortifications ;  but  in  the  western  and  southwestern 
part  of  the  State  they  were  enslaved  arid  conquered 
by  the  more  numerous  short-headed  race,  and  hence 
lived  in  the  hilly  regions  of  Clermont  and  Clinton 
counties  and  the  valley  of  Brush  Creek,  as  men 
tioned  in  Chapters  ix.  and  xvi. 

Beginning  at  Marietta,  we  find  the  wonderful 
series  of  embankments  shown  in  Plate  26,  pages 
73  to  77  of  Squier  and  Davis'  Ancient  Monuments 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Proceeding  up  the  river 
we  find  the  mounds  and  village  sites  of  the  dolico- 
cephalic  race  upon  the  second  and  third  terraces 
and  frequently  upon  the  high  points  of  land  two  or 
three  miles  removed  from  the  river.  The  structures 
do  not  closely  resemble  those  of  the  Scioto  and 
Miami  valleys. 

No  better  idea  can  be  obtained  of  the  Mus- 
kinguni  valley  than  from  the  substance  of  a  letter 
written  by  Mr.  Willard  H.  Davis  on  December  14, 
1891. 

He  has  observed  during  an  acquaintance  of 
twenty  years  with  the  Muskiugum  River,  among 
hills,  terraces,  and  alluvial  lands  from  Marietta  to 
Meigs  Creek,  in  Morgan  County,  mounds  irregularly 
distributed.  But  one  mound  was  ever  found  upon 
the  alluvial  bottom. 

One  mile  and  a  half  from  Marietta,  upon  the 
farm  of  Mr.  Strecker,  are  two  mounds  three  or  four 
feet  in  height.  In  the  same  neighborhood  are  sev- 


22  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

eral  mounds  upon  the  farm  of  Josiah  Deveol,  one 
fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  river.  Mounds  are  also 
numerous  in  the  following  localities :  just  back  of 
Devol's  dam  near  Marietta,  on  John  Drake's  farm 
in  the  same  neighborhood,  upon  the  farm  of  Joseph 
Stow  five  miles  up  the  river,  on  Bear  Creek  upon 
the  farms  of  Messrs.  Wilkings,  Snyder,  etc. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  note  that  Mr.  Davis  has 
occasionally  found  whole  pottery  in  the  mounds. 
Pottery  is  very  rare  in  the  tumuli  of  any  section  of 
Ohio,  although  it  has  been  frequently  found  at 
Madison ville  and  occasionally  in  the  Miami  valley. 
In  exploring  the  mound  upon  Mr.  John  Drake's  farm, 
a  whole  pot,  decorated,  filled  with  charcoal  and 
ashes,  was  taken  from  a  point  three  feet  below  the 
surface.  There  seems  to  have  been  nothing  else  in 
the  structure,  except  a  badly  decayed  skeleton. 

Just  below  the  mouth  of  Bear  Creek  is  a  small  vil 
lage  site,  while  on  the  high  bluffs  above  there  is  a 
fair-sized  mound  which  commands  a  good  view  of  the 
surrounding  country.  As  in  the  case  of  the  major 
portion  of  the  mounds  throughout  the  Muskingum 
valley,  it  seems  to  have  been  designed  more  as  a 
place  of  observation  than  for  the  interment  of  the 
dead. 

Above  Bear  Creek  there  is  a  fine  alluvial  bottom, 
and  near  the  hills  a  splendid  gravel  terrace,  one 
third  of  a  mile  in  width,  extends  for  some  distance. 
An  elliptical  stone  mound,  thirty -five  by  twenty- 
five  feet,  and  four  feet  in  altitude,  a  village  site 
and  other  evidences  of  occupation  are  upon  this  ter 
race.  In  May,  1881,  the  mound  was  thoroughly 


THE   MUSKINGUM    VALLEY.  2$ 

explored  ;  two  copper  bracelets,  slightly  oxidized, 
and  human  bones,  were  found  scattered  among  the 
stones. 

The  hills,  several  miles  above  Bear  Creek,  recede 
from  the  river  to  the  northwest  and  leave  a  broad 
bottom,  part  of  which  is  occupied  by  a  terrace  simi 
lar  to  the  one  described  above.  A  large  village  site 
and  several  mounds  are  located  upon  the  terrace  on 
the  Davis  estate,  Wilkings,  Snyder,  and  other  farms. 
One  of  the  mounds,  forty  feet  in  diameter  by  four 
feet  in  height,  was  explored  with  the  following 
results : 

Near  the  surface  was  a  decayed  skeleton  and  a 
polished  hematite  spherical  object.  In  the  centre, 
above  the  base  line,  was  an  ash-pit  containing  an 
arrow-head,  while  at  the  bottom  lay  a  decayed  body. 
A  cannel  coal  gorget,  four  by  six  inches  with  two 
perforations,  was  found  upon  the  breast.  There 
were  no  stones  in  the  mound.  One  hundred  yards 
west  of  the  structure  is  a  ravine,  on  the  west  side  of 
which  once  existed  a  small  mound.  A  few  rods  far 
ther  west  a  roadway  is  traceable.  It  has  been  cut 
into  the  bank  of  the  terrace,  and  leads  from  the  top 
of  the  hill  above  to  the  river  bottoms  below.  As  in 
the  case  of  some  of  the  Miami  valley  terraces  it  is 
under  discussion  regarding  its  origin,  whether  natural 
or  artificial.  Upon  the  river  bank  at  this  point, 
many  mussel  shells,  flint  chips,  and  pieces  of  pottery 
seem  to  indicate  the  presence  of  a  village. 

There  are  three  mounds  surrounded  by  a  semi 
circular  embankment  near  the  same  spot.  The 
circle  has  an  inside  ditch.  A  fourth  mound  is 


24  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

distant  fifty  yards  west,  on  the  edge  of  the 
bluff  at  the  bottom  of  which  runs  Wilson's 
Creek,  a  small  tributary  of  the  Muskingum.  Mr. 
Davis  thoroughly  explored  these  mounds  and  also 
made  excavations  in  the  semicircle,  finding  flint  im 
plements,  an  unfinished  sandstone  tablet,  and  de 
cayed  skeletons.  The  best  entire  earthen  pot,  which 
it  was  his  privilege  to  take  from  the  tumuli  in  his 
neighborhood,  was  found  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
skeletons  in  the  largest  mound.  The  vessel  had  a 
contour  like  a  cocoa-nut,  and  exhibited  on  its  exterior 
the  impression  of  a  twisted  bark  basket. 

A  most  singular  slate  effigy  was  found  upon  the 
surface  near  the  semicircle.  It  is  of  banded  slate  three 
and  a  half  inches  long,  the  upper  portion  being  semi 
circular,  the  lower  portion  having  been  drawn  and 
narrowed  until  it  gracefully  ends  in  a  fair  represen 
tation  of  a  child's  feet  and  toes.  So  far  as  wTe  are 
aware  no  effigy  of  this  kind  has  ever  been  found 
in  the  State  of  Ohio. 

Several  mounds  lie  on  the  Davis  estate  on  the 
bluffs  overlooking  the  Muskingum.  From  their 
summits  views  can  be  had  for  a  distance  of  eight 
or  ten  miles  up  the  beautiful  river.  In  reference  to 
these  mounds  much  cannot  be  said,  except  that  a 
few  relics,  cremated  skeletons,  and  mussel  shells 
were  in  the  tumuli,  and  the  usual  village  site  debris 
upon  the  hearths.  One  or  two  stone  graves  are  also 
to  be  found  on  this  property. 

In  December,  1888,  a  mound  upon  the  farm  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Hall,  seven  by  forty  feet,  was  examined. 
The  position  of  nine  skeletons  was  strangely  like 


THE  MUSK2NGUM    VALLEY.  25 

those  which  we  have  taken  from  mounds  containing 
dolicocephalic  crania  in  Clinton,  Clermont,  and  Brown 
counties.  The  ash-pits  were  small,  and  one  or  two 
layers  of  sandstone  slabs  were  observed.  Upon 
the  same  farm  a  skeleton  was  found  in  a  small 
mound  surrounded  by  limestone  slabs.  The  inter 
ment  was  similar  to  the  one  mentioned  in  Chapter 
VIIL,  to  some  of  the  burials  made  in  the  Taylor 
Mound.  The  stone  coverings  were  fitted  so  closely 
as  to  exclude  earth,  and  when  lifted  off  gave  a 
perfect  view  of  the  body.  About  the  wrists  were 
beads  of  copper,  bird  bones,  elk  and  bear  teeth, 
with  short  pieces  of  buckskin  strings  preserved  by 
the  copper;  a  small  grooved  axe1  and  a  bone  awl 
accompanied  the  remains. 

Another  small  mound,  just  to  the  east  of  the  one 
described,  was  excavated  by  Mr.  Davis.  In  it  he 
found  three  skeletons  with  heads  to  the  east.  With 
them  were  elk  teeth,  beads,  and  a  worked  hematite 
object  similar  to  a  cylinder.  A  mound  west  of  the 
group  enclosed  by  the  semicircle,  as  described  above, 
was  found  to  contain  four  skeletons.  The  largest 
of  the  skeletons  was  placed  in  one  of  the  stone 
graves,  such  as  are  described  in  Chapters  vni.  and  ix. 
The  head  of  this  skeleton  was  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  body  by  a  distance  of  a  foot.  A  large 
stone  was  placed  in  an  upright  position  back  of  the 
head,  and  another  large  one  stood  near  the  lower 
jaw.  Thus  the  head  was  enclosed  in  a  small  stone 

1  In  all  our  mound  explorations  we  never  found  a  grooved  axe.  The  find 
is  certainly  very  remarkable.  Ungrooved  axes,  however,  are  common  in  the 
tumuli.— \V.  K.  M. 


26  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

box-shaped  cavity  entirely  separate  from  the  one 
that  enclosed  the  body.  Seven  dark-gray  sandstone 
objects,  similar  to  an  axe  in  outline,  and  a  cup,  con 
structed  from  the  shell  of  a  land  tortoise,  were  with 
the  head.  In  the  right  parietal  was  an  aperture 
where  an  arrow  had  penetrated  the  brain.  The  point 
was  found  within  the  skull.  One  of  the  fragments 
of  another  cranium  had  a  small  arrow-head  im 
bedded  in  it. 

Just  above  Cat's  Creek,  which  empties  into  the 
Muskingum  a  mile  above  Lowell,  is  a  gravelly  ter 
race  on  which  are  eleven  mounds  and  a  small  enclos 
ure.  This  is  the  only  enclosure  in  the  Muskingum 
valley,  save  the  large  one  at  Marietta.  The  highest 
mound  between  Marietta  and  Zanesville  lies  upon 
the  farm  of  John  Newton.  It  is  twelve  feet  in  alti 
tude  and  has  a  base  of  ninety  or  one  hundred  feet. 
North  of  the  enclosure  is  a  small  mound  which  Mr. 
Davis  explored,  finding  upon  the  base  line  an  altar 
four  feet  square,  dipping  toward  the  centre,  and  six 
inches  high.  In  the  altar  were  the  following  objects, 
together  with  charcoal  and  ashes :  a  sandstone  tab 
let,  three  by  four  inches,  and  half  an  inch  thick ; 
a  diamond-shaped  tablet  of  slate,  two  and  a  half  by 
three  inches;  a  flint  spear-head  five  inches  long;  a 
striped  slate  ornament  four  inches  in  length,  with 
two  perforations;  another  beautifully  polished  orna 
ment,  oval-shaped,  with  two  perforations  ;  a  thick 
tablet  of  sandstone  four  inches  in  length,  a  some 
what  smaller  tablet,  fragments  of  copper,  and  a  tube 
of  clay  and  sand. 

Below  the  altar  just  described  were  found  logs  ten 


THE   MUSKINGUM    VALLEY.  27 

to  twelve  inches  in  diameter  resting  upon  a  second 
and  larger  altar,  but  in  it  there  were  no  remains. 

It  is  very  singular  that  hematite  should  have  been 
used  so  largely  by  the  aborigines  of  the  Muskingum 
valley  for  fashioning  implements,  when  tribes  of  the 
Miami  or  Scioto  regions  used  it  only  to  a  limited 
extent.  Mr.  Davis  reports  finding  a  highly  polished 
hematite  celt  and  cone  and  fragments  of  hematite  in 
a  tumulus  upon  the  same  terrace  as  the  altar  mound. 
Upon  a  terrace  near  Big  Run  a  rich  stone  mound 
was  examined,  in  which  were  found  fragmentary 
bones  and  four  large  beautiful  slate  ornaments  all 
perforated  for  suspension.  These  were  six  or  seven 
inches  in  length  and  beautifully  worked. 

Copper  in  the  Muskingum  valley  is  exceedingly 
rare.  In  a  mound  near  Rainbow  Station,  upon  Mr. 
Joseph  Dayrs'  farm,  was  a  decayed  skeleton.  At 
the  hips  lay  a  copper  spear-head  six  inches  in  length. 
At  the  head  lay  a  copper  disk  three  inches  in  diame 
ter  with  a  central  perforation.  In  a  mound  upon 
Mr.  S.  S.  Stowe's  land  Mr.  Davis  found  the  bones  of 
a  young  woman  in  a  kneeling  position  with  a  child's 
skeleton  in  her  arms. 

There  are  surface  indications  of  a  large  village  site 

O  O 

near  the  same  place.  (This  is  not  far  from  Lowell.) 
In  Mr.  Davis7  letter  some  twenty  more  mounds 
were  mentioned  than  are  here  recorded.  Nearly  all 
of  them  he  had  explored,  and  found  objects  similar 
to  those  described  in  the  preceding  pages.  The 
village  sites  he  found  to  be  small  when  compared 
with  those  in  the  Scioto  and  Miami  valleys.  But 
while  no  single  village  site  equalled  in  extent  the 


28  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

ones  at  Hope  well's,  Fort  Ancient,  or  Madison  ville, 
yet  when  combined  they  would  contain  a  population 
equal  to  the  larger  towns  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State. 

He  finds  no  high  mounds  or  extensive  fortifica 
tions,  and  even  such  as  he  found  are  not  near  the 
river,  but  are  usually  on  high  ground.  The  pre 
dominance  of  slate  objects  is  noted  in  the  mounds  of 
the  lower  Muskingum  valley,  and  many  of  them  oc 
cur  in  Clinton  and  Clermont  counties.  None  of  the 
fine  objects,  such  as  we  describe  in  Chapter  xv.,  were 
discovered.  The  crania  are  all  dolicocephalic. 

In  size  and  contents  the  mounds  are  very  like 
those  of  Clinton,  Clermont,  and  Brown  counties, 
where  the  long-headed  stock  had  small  villages. 
The  copper  found  in  the  mounds  may  have  been 
obtained  by  force  in  wars  with  the  Scioto  valley 
peoples.  From  the  limited  extent  of  the  villages 
and  the  general  inferiority  of  the  implements  and 
ornaments  to  those  found  in  the  short-heads'  country, 
we  are  of  the  opinion  that  primitive  man  in  the 
Muskingum  valley  was  a  confirmed  warrior,  waging 
battle  with  the  short-heads  to  the  west  for  many 
years,  keeping  up  his  towns  upon  the  Muskiugum  as 
headquarters,  to  which  the  marauding  bands  which 
he  sent  out  might  return. 

The  upper  Muskingum,  namely,  the  valleys  of  the 
Licking  and  the  Tuscarawas  rivers,  contains  several 
large  fortifications  and  two  or  three  hundred  tumuli. 
The  Tuscarawas  region  has  never  been  thoroughly 
explored,  and  therefore  little  is  known  regarding  it. 

Concerning  the  Licking  region,  we  are  of  the  opin- 


THE   MUSKINGUM    VALLEY.  2g 

ion  that  the  skulls  are  dolicocephalic.  Judging  from 
the  field  evidence  it  was  occupied  by  a  larger  body 
of  the  long-heads  than  were  in  the  lower  Muskingum. 
Living  so  near  Flint  Ridge — to  which  all  tribes  were 
compelled  to  resort  for  material  to  be  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  implements — they  probably  suffered 
greatly  by  the  incursions  of  flint-seeking  tribes. 
Hence  we  can  readily  see  why  it  was  necessary  for 
them  to  erect  earthworks  and  fortifications.  The 
southern  portion  of  their  country  needed  no  such 
protection. 

In  Chapter  ix.  further  testimony  will  be  offered 
concerning  a  few  villages  of  the  long-heads  that  have 
been  found  in  the  Miami  and  Scioto  valleys. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FLINT    RIDGE. 

ABORIGINAL  man  was  a  practical  lithologist.  Un 
acquainted  with  any  method  of  reducing  ores,  he  was 
unable  to  avail  himself  of  the  harder  metals,  and 
consequently  was  compelled  to  utilize  some  form  of 
stone  in  the  manufacture  of  implements  intended 
for  ordinary  use.  The  glacial  drift,  covering  three- 
fourths  of  the  State,  furnished  an  abundance  of  ma 
terial  for  axes,  pestles,  celts,  and  other  utensils 
required  for  rough  work  ;  but,  while  quartzite,  syen 
ite,  and  diorite  are  well  adapted  for  making  any 
tool  or  weapon  which  must  be  both  hard  and  tough, 
they  are  unsuitable  for  use  when  a  keen  cutting 
edge  is  necessary.  For  the  latter  purpose  nothing 
else  at  the  command  of  the  ancient  artificer  was  so 
suitable  as  the  different  varieties  of  chalcedony. 
Obsidian  and  the  various  forms  of  agate,  so  plen 
tifully  at  the  command  of  Indians  in  the  extreme 
west,  could  not  be  obtained  by  the  prehistoric  in 
habitants  of  the  Ohio  valley,  who  were  therefore 
forced  to  adopt  the  flint,  hornstone,  chert,  and  chal 
cedony  .found  nearer  home.  These  occur  in  quantity 
from  central  Ohio  eastward,  generally  imbedded  in 
limestone,  but  sometimes  replacing  that  rock  to  a 

30 


FLINT  RIDGE. 


small  extent.  Many  of  these  deposits  contain  stone 
that  is  coarse,  impure,  of  uneven  texture,  or  other 
wise  unsuitable  for  the  needs  of  the  primitive  hunter 
or  warrior.  Direct  exposure  to  atmospheric  agencies 
also  detracts  from  its  availability,  the  manner  of 
cleavage  being  so  altered  that  the  stone  no  longer 
splits  into  conchoidal  flakes  when  struck,  but  shat 
ters  or  breaks  into  irregular  fragments.  Thus,  while 
a  small,  sharp-pointed  fragment  of  stone,  such  as 
could  be  picked  up  almost  anywhere,  might  be  ser 
viceable  for  an  arrow-head,  the  requirements  of  a 
manufacturer  of  finer  flint  implements  were  more 
difficult  to  meet.  He  must  have  a  stone  very  hard 
and  compact,  of  homogeneous  texture,  free  from  any 
admixture  of  foreign  material,  with  a  definite  line  of 
fracture  that  could  be  determined  beforehand,  and 
covered  by  a  stratum  of  earth  or  rock  which  would 
prevent  deterioration  by  weathering ;  at  the  same 
time  the  overlying  mass  must  not  be  of  such  depth 
or  solidity  as  to  prevent  convenient  access  to  the 
desired  material. 

In  the  State  of  Ohio  there  are  two  flint  deposits 
presenting  these  essential  features  to  a  marked 
degree. 

The  first  of  these  is  between  Newark  and  Zanes- 
ville.  At  no  other  place  in  the  Ohio  valley  can  be 
found  so  great  a  quantity  of  this  material ;  and  prob 
ably  nowhere  else  in  the  United  States  are  to  be 
seen  aboriginal  excavations  on  so  extensive  a  scale. 
The  magnitude  of  the  deposit  is  such  that  it  has 
given  to  the  locality  the  distinctive  name  of  "  Flint 
Ridge,'1  by  which  it  is  well  known  to  geologists  and 


32  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

collectors.  Its  outline  is  extremely  tortuous,  owing 
to  the  erosion  that  has  made  the  whole  country  a  suc 
cession  of  hills  and  ravines.  Throughout  its  length 
it  forms  the  cap-rock  of  the  high  land,  all  the  super 
incumbent  material  having  been  either  removed  or 
converted  into  soil. 

The  salient  points  of  the  surface  in  the  region 
being  practically  in  a  horizontal  plane,  while  the 
dip  of  the  rock  is  to  the  southeast,  it  follows  that  the 
flint  stratum  was,  at  its  eastern  end,  first  covered 
by  a  considerable  thickness  of  earth.  The  rounded 
knolls  characteristic  of  the  landscape  are  in  some 
places  eighty  feet  above  the  flint.  This,  however,  is 
not  common  ;  for  the  most  part  the  overlying  earth 
is  only  a  few  feet  in  depth,  and  toward  the  ends  or 
sides  of  the  numerous  ridges  the  flint  stands  out  in 
relief. 

Geologically  the  formation  belongs  to  the  car 
boniferous  or  coal-measure  rocks,  being  the  last  or 
uppermost  layer  of  the  "  Putnam  Hill  Limestone  " 
of  the  Ohio  Geological  Survey. 

A  fine  bed  of  cannel  coal  lies  one  hundred  and 
four  feet  below  the  flint,  and  is  mined  on  a  consid 
erable  scale.  Bituminous  coal  also  is  found  south 
of  the  ridge,  some  distance  below  the  level  of  the 
flint  stratum ;  the  exact  interval  has  never  been 
measured.  If  the  Kittaning  coal  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  Geological  Survey  were  extended  thus  far 
toward  the  west,  it  would  lie  about  thirty-five  feet 
above  the  flint. 

The  western  extremity  of  the  flint  is  found  in  a 
detached  hill  in  Franklin  Township,  eight  miles 


FLINT  RIDGE.  33 

southeast  of  Newark.  It  here  appears  as  a  porous 
stone,  similar  to  buhr  or  millstone,  but  more  open  or 
cellular.  This  continues  only  a  short  distance,  when 
it  is  cut  off  by  a  depression  formed  by  ravines  having 
their  beginning  on  opposite  sides  of  the  ridge,  of 
which  this  hill  was  formerly  a  part.  These  ravines 
have  worn  back  until  they  have  broken  down  and 
removed  all  the  flint,  as  well  as  much  of  the  subja 
cent  rock. 

Beyond  this  depression  is  a  level  tract  extending 
eastward  a  little  more  than  a  mile,  with  an  average 
wridth  of  about  four  hundred  yards.  Much  of  the 
flint  about  the  outcrop  is  of  the  same  nature  as  that 
to  the  west ;  but  there  are  several  places  where  the 
exposed  portions  are  quite  solid  and  nearly  white  in 
color.  The  main  body  of  the  deposit  has  been  pro 
tected  from  weathering  by  a  considerable  thickness 
of  earth  ;  in  places  where  this  has  been  removed  the 
flint  proves  to  be  translucent,  very  dense,  and  with 
a  decided  tinge  of  blue,  thus  almost  answering  the 
description  of  chalcedony. 

Another  depression  similar  to  the  one  noted  above, 
and  due  to  the  same  cause,  terminates  this  body  of 
flint  to  the  east.  In  this,  on  the  north  side,  is  a  mine 
from  which  the  cannel  coal  has  been  taken  for  many 
years. 

Reappearing  east  of  this  depression,  the  flint  ex 
tends  without  another  interruption  for  nearly  three 
miles.  The  outcrop  along  the  northern  side  of  the 
ridge  in  this  part  is  tolerably  regular,  and  follows, 
approximately,  an  east  and  west  line  ;  on  the  south 
ern  side,  however,  several  spurs  project  to  a  distance 


34  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

of  more  than  half  a  mile.     There  are  also  detached 
hills  and  ridges  which  once  were  connected  with  the 

o 

main  ridge,  but  have  been  cut  off  by  erosion. 

Beyond  this  large  area  of  flint  is  an  interval  of 
three  fourths  of  a  mile  in  which  the  flint  is  entirely 
absent,  except  in  scattered  fragments  or  boulders 
sufficiently  compact  and  homogeneous  to  resist  the 
destructive  atmospheric  agencies  that  have  reduced 
the  general  level  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  limestone  which  underlies  the  flint 
stratum. 

After  passing  this  the  flint  is  again  found,  but 
much  of  it  is  buried  beneath  a  thickness  of  earth 
that  precludes  any  definite  knowledge  of  its  nature. 
Such  of  it  as  is  visible,  either  along  the  slopes  or 
occasionally  in  places  on  the  surface  where  removal 
of  the  soil  has  been  more  marked,  is  either  buhr- 
stone  or  a  white,  compact  stone  whose  monotony  of 
color  may  be  due  to  weathering ;  for  fragments 
about  the  ancient  quarries  show  a  considerable 
variety  in  texture  and  color,  many  of  them  being 
quite  translucent,  others  containing  an  amount  of 
carbonaceous  matter  that  makes  them  almost  black, 
while  still  others  have  the  bluish-gray  tints  of 
chalcedony. 

This  portion  of  the  deposit,  which  at  one  point  is 
almost  a  mile  in  width,  extends  in  a  general  easterly 
direction  for  fully  a  mile  beyond  the  Muskingum 
County  line ;  it  then  trends  toward  the  north,  form 
ing  a  curve  whose  farthest  limit  is  a  mile  to  the 
north  of  any  other  part  of  the  ridge. 


FLINT  RIDGE.  35 

How  much  farther  it  may  have  extended  eastward 
cannot  now  be  ascertained  ;  but  the  present  termina 
tion  is  certainly  much  within  its  original  boundary, 
for  the  rock  which  juts  out  from  the  hillside  at  its 
very  extremity  is  thicker  than  the  flint  at  any  other 
point,  there  being  a  vertical  exposure  of  fully  seven 
feet.  How  far  downward  it  may  reach  is  not  known. 
In  a  number  of  places  in  the  west  and  middle  por 
tions  of  the  ridge,  wells  have  been  dug  and  other 
excavations  made ;  but  nowhere  has  the  stone  been 
found  more  than  four  feet  in  thickness. 

The  entire  length  of  the  deposit,  measured  on  a 
section  line,  is  eight  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth 
is  three  miles.  Its  actual  area  as  it  now  exists  is 
probably  not  more  than  four  square  miles,  the  re 
mainder  having  been  removed  by  denudation.  It  is 
not  improbable  that,  as  deposited,  it  comprised  fully 
thirty  square  miles,  with  an  average  thickness  of  four 
or  five  feet. 

Baryte  is  found  in  small  quantities  in  some  places ; 
quartz  crystals  are  abundant;  while  nearly  all  the 
flint,  except  the  clear  chalcedony,  is  highly  fossilif- 
erous. 

As  to  the  evidence  of  human  occupation  and 
industry,  the  first  remains  of  this  nature  are  on  the 
western  end  of  the  level  tract  mentioned  as  extend 
ing  to  the  depression  in  which  the  coal  mine  is  situ 
ated.  A  space  of  about  ten  acres  is  here  surrounded 
by  an  ancient  wall  built  of  flint  blocks  that  have 
been  gathered  up  along  the  outcrop  on  the  hillsides. 
The  enclosure  has  almost  disappeared,  the  stones 


36  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

composing  it  having  been  hauled  away  by  those 
cultivating  the  field.  Enough  remains,  however, 
to  indicate  its  outlines.  It  commanded  the  valleys 
to  the  north  and  south,  the  wall  being  carried  along 
the  hill  just  at  the  top  of  the  slope  on  either  side, 
and  connecting  across  the  level  surface  of  the  ridge. 
Before  being  disturbed  it  was  fully  five  feet  in  height 
and  eight  or  ten  feet  in  breadth  at  the  base. 

Within  the  walls  are  two  mounds  not  more  than 
thirty  feet  apart.  One,  built  entirely  of  earth,  is 
fifteen  feet  in  height,  and  seventy-five  feet  in  diame 
ter  at  the  base;  the  other,  a  pile  of  loose  stones 
heaped  together,  is  not  more  than  three  feet  in 
height,  with  a  diameter  of  fifty  feet. 

This  structure  was  undoubtedly  designed  as  a 
fort.  From  the  north  or  south,  approach  is  possible 
only  by  climbing  a  steep  hill  strewn  thickly  with  angu 
lar  fragments  of  flint  and  sandstone ;  from  the  east 
or  west  an  attacking  force  would  have  a  level  space 
to  cross,  with  little  opportunity  for  shelter  from  the 
missiles  of  the  defensive  party. 

Nothing  else  of  artificial  character  is  found  on 
this  hill ;  there  are  no  quarries,  workshops,  or  other 
remains,  until  the  great  deposit  east  of  the  coal  mine 
is  reached.  Here  occur  the  most  interesting  features 
of  the  entire  region.  Few  persons  have  ever  seen 
more  than  a  small  part  of  it,  and  yet  such  superficial 
examination  as  can  be  made  in  a  day's  visit  will  im 
press  the  observer  with  a  feeling  that  he  is  viewing 
the  scene  of  operations  by  comparison  with  which 
the  construction  of  Ohio's  most  extensive  earthworks 
would  be  mere  holiday  sport. 


FLINT  RIDGE.  37 

On  almost  every  farm  thousands  of  cubic  yards  of 
earth  have  been  removed  that  the  flint  beneath  might 
be  reached.  Acre  after  acre  has  been  so  thoroughly 
excavated  that  scarcely  a  single  foot  of  earth  or 
stone  retains  its  original  position.  Hundreds  of 
wagon-loads  of  spalls  cover  the  ground,  the  refuse 
of  ancient  implement  making.  In  many  places  one 
may  walk  forty  rods  or  more  in  a  direct  line  with  the 
certainty  that  nowhere  within  fifty  feet  of  him  would 
it  be  possible  to  find  a  spot  that  had  not  been  dug 
for  a  depth  of  five  to  fifteen  feet,  or  even  more.  To 
comprehend  fully  the  labor  necessary  to  accomplish 
all  this,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  subsoil  is 
as  solid  as  the  earth  in  a  public  highway.  Sharp 
picks,  wielded  by  muscular  arms,  cannot  be  driven 
into  it  more  than  two  or  three  inches.  The  stone, 
when  reached,  is  so  extremely  hard  that,  unless  fa 
vored  by  a  baryte  or  crystal  deposit,  a  person,  in 
digging  a  well,  for  example,  may  have  to  work  an 
entire  day  with  the  best  steel  drills  in  order  to  make 
a  hole  deep  enough  to  put  in  a  blast.  When  one 
witnesses  the  slow  progress  made  by  good  workmen 
aided  by  steel  and  powder,  and  remembers  that  the 
Indians  had  no  better  tools  than  they  could  fashion 
from  wood,  bone,  or  stone,  and  when  he  finds  fur 
ther,  that  it  requires  several  days  merely  to  walk  over 
the  area  included  by  the  ancient  quarries,  he  realizes 
the  vast  amount  of  toil  involved  in  these  excava 
tions. 

Eleven  miles  from  Newark  the  Zanesville  road  is 
intersected  by  the  road  leading  from  Brownsville, 
on  the  old  National  Pike,  to  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 


38  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

Railway.  This  point,  locally  known  as  "  The  Ridge 
Cross-road,"  is  one  mile  east  of  the  coal  mine,  and 
three  miles  north  of  Brownsville.  For  fully  half  a 
mile  to  the  east,  west,  and  south,  and  half  that  dis 
tance  to  the  north,  the  debris  from  pits  and  work 
shops  literally  covers  the  surface,  not  only  on  the 
spurs  and  minor  ridges,  but  in  many  places  on  the 
lower  ground.  Most  of  the  stone  is  very  solid, 
though  some  of  it  is  so  porous  as  to  be  unfit  for  use. 

One  of  the  pits  near  here  is  almost  a  hundred  feet 
in  diameter.  A  pole  eighteen  feet  long  has  been 
thrust  full  length  downward  into  the  muck  with 
which  it  is  filled,  without  reaching  the  bottom. 

The  flint  in  this  entire  central  area  shows  an 
almost  endless  diversity  in  coloring.  Much  of  it  is 
milk-white.  There  are  large  beds,  perhaps  a  hun 
dred  acres  in  all,  of  striped  jasper,  the  colors  being 
alternate  light  gray  and  dark  gray  in  thin  and  regu 
lar  bands.  This  is  an  excellent  material  for  arrow- 
and  spear-heads,  and  has  been  extensively  quarried. 
Segregated  masses  occur  of  lustreless,  dull  black, 
gray,  or  yellowish-brown.  These  contain  various 
impurities,  and  apparently  were  not  sought  after. 
At  various  places,  but  mostly  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  cross-road,  are  immense  deposits  of 
what  should  have  a  distinct  classification  as  "  Flint 
Ridge  Stone."  It  is  a  chalcedony,  pure  or  nearly  so, 
but  differing  somewhat  in  appearance  from  that  in 
any  other  known  locality.  When  thoroughly  pro 
tected  from  weathering  it  is  of  a  light  grayish-blue 
color,  translucent  in  pieces  of  considerable  thickness, 


FLINT  RIDGE.  39 

exceedingly  hard,  and  yet,  when  freshly  dug,  easily 
wrought  by  the  usual  methods  in  vogue  among 
modern  Indians.  When  exposed  to  the  atmosphere 
for  a  long  period  it  assumes  an  almost  infinite  variety 
of  tints,  equalling  or  even  surpassing  in  beauty  and 
brilliancy  the  finest  agates  or  carnelians.  But,  no 
matter  how  it  may  have  changed  in  other  respects, 
it  retains  a  peculiar  gloss  or  lustre  that  enables  one 
familiar  with  it  to  detect  at  a  glance  an  implement 
from  this  locality,  no  matter  where  it  may  be  found. 
This  property  has  been  useful  in  aiding  to  estab 
lish  two  facts.  First,  that  people  using  it  cov 
ered  a  wide  territory ;  weapons  made  from  it  have 
been  found  in  New  York,  Illinois,  and  eastern 
Virginia,  as  well  as  nearer  to  its  source.  Secondly, 
that  the  aborigines  resorted  to  this  spot  for  a  long 
period  of  time,  perhaps  many  centuries ;  chips  or 
blocks  of  exactly  the  same  composition  found  side 
by  side  on  the  surface  vary  greatly  in  appearance, 
some  being  as  yet  scarcely  affected  by  the  exposure, 
the  exterior  of  other  pieces  being  completely  changed 
in  color,  while  in  still  others  the  change  of  color  may 
be  uniform  through  the  fragment. 

It  was  quarried  anterior  to  the  construction  of 
some,  at  least,  of  the  large  mounds  in  Ohio  and  West 
Virginia,  for  many  arrows,  cores,  and  flakes  of  it 
have  been  found  in  them.  In  the  large  mound  de 
scribed  in  chapter  xiv.,  a  chip  of  it  was  found  lying 
upon  the  original  surface  as  if  it  had  been  carelessly 
thrown  there  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  first  or 
oldest  part  of  the  mound. 


4O  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  Off  TO. 

It  was  unquestionably  used  by  the  Indians  occu 
pying  the  Ohio  valley  at  the  time  of  its  settlement 
by  the  whites,  for  thousands  of  implements  made  of 
it  have  been  picked  up  on  or  very  near  the  surface  of 
the  ground  in  spots  where  it  is  known  that  modern 
tribes  had  their  domicile  in  quite  recent  times. 

Several  hills  situated  between  the  ridge  and  the 
National  road  were  once  part  of  the  plateau  covered 
by  the  flint ;  but  erosive  agencies  have  cut  them  off, 
and  they  are  now  entirely  isolated.  On  all  of  these 
which  retain  their  former  elevation  excavations  have 
been  made  on  a  very  large  scale.  None  of  the  ma 
terial  here,  however,  has  the  diversified  colors  so 
noticeable  in  that  nearer  the  cross-road. 

The  only  indications  of  permanent  occupation 
along  this  portion  of  the  ridge  are  three  circular  en 
closures — two  near  the  cross-road,  now  obliterated 
by  cultivation,  the  third  a  mile  and  a  half  south. 
The  last,  which  is  still  quite  distinct,  consists  of  an 
embankment  with  interior  ditch,  the  outer  diameter 
being  about  three  hundred  feet.  They  are  probably 
the  sites  of  small  stockaded  villages  or  camps.  There 
are  also  two  small  mounds  of  earth,  both  of  which 
have  yielded  human  bones  to  investigators. 

On  the  third  principal  deposit  of  the  flint,  that 
lying  along  both  sides  of  the  line  between  Licking 
and  Muskingum  counties,  the  excavations  are  on  a 
smaller  scale  than  those  heretofore  noted.  There  is 
but  one  group  of  pits  west  of  the  county  line ;  these 
extend  over  an  area  of  five  or  six  acres.  They  occur 
at  a  place  where  the  covering  of  earth  was  quite  thin, 
and  present  no  features  worthy  of  special  notice. 


FLINT  RIDGE.  41 

The  first  excavations  in  Muskingum  County  are 
small.  The  stone  is  of  the  same  general  character  as 
the  chalcedony  at  the  cross-roads,  and  therefore  well 
adapted  to  the  uses  made  of  it ;  but  the  quantity  of 
earth  to  be  removed  before  it  could  be  reached  was 
an  obstacle  too  great  to  be  overcome,  and  the  at 
tempted  quarries  had  to  be  abandoned. 

It  is  not  until  the  margin  of  the  flint  area  in  this 
direction  is  reached  that  evidence  of  extensive  work 
is  found.  Almost  the  entire  spur  forming  the  north 
ern  and  eastern  extremity  of  the  deposit  has  under 
gone  extensive  denudation,  owing  to  the  peculiar 
arrangement  of  the  drainage  system  about  it ;  conse 
quently  the  stone  is  easy  to  reach.  The  pits  extend 
very  nearly  to  the  final  outcrop  on  the  east  and  as 
far  toward  the  north  as  workable  material  is  to  be 
obtained.  But  they  are  all  shallow,  and  the  im 
mense  piles  of  refuse  show  that  only  a  small  portion 
of  the  stone  obtained  was  fit  to  be  wrought  into 
implements. 

Careful  researches  by  various  parties  have  shown 
the  methods  by  which  the  primitive  worker  obtained 
the  coveted  material  and  made  from  it  weapons  or 
implements  suitable  to  his  wants. 

Probably  numerous  experiments  and  repeated 
failures  in  working  the  fragments  found  on  the  sur 
face  had  taught  him  that  if  he  wished  to  make 
specimens  of  symmetrical  form  and  definite  outline, 
he  must  procure  a  stone  that  was  solid  and  uniform 
in  texture.  Either  by  accident,  or  by  the  use  of  his 
reasoning  powers,  he  discovered  that  such  material 
is  to  be  found  in  the  ground  instead  of  upon  it. 


42  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

Digging  away  the  earth  with  such  tools  as  he  could 
improvise — pointed  sticks  hardened  by  fire,  antler, 
bone,  or  stone, — he  came  to  the  surface  of  the  flint. 
This  resisted  all  his  efforts  until  he  thought  of  the 
effects  of  heat.  Placing  wood  upon  it,  he  set  fire  to 
the  pile.  When  the  stone  had  reached  a  high  tem 
perature  he  threw  cold  water  on  it ;  this  caused  it 
to  shatter  and  crack  in  all  directions.  Casting  aside 
the  fragments,  he  repeated  the  operation,  until  he 
had  finally  burned  his  way  to  the  limestone  beneath. 
Removing  all  burned  portions  of  the  flint,  he  next 
procured  a  quantity  of  fine  clay  and  spread  a  thick 
coating  on  the  top  and  sides  of  the  stone,  to  prevent 
injury  to  it.  Then  building  a  fire  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hole,  he  soon  burned  away  the  limestone  and  the 
lower  part  of  the  flint  stratum,  leaving  the  top  pro 
jecting.  This  he  broke  loose  with  large  boulders  of 
quartz  or  granite ;  hammers  of  this  sort,  weighing  from 
twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  have  been 
found  in  the  bottoms  of  pits  that  have  been  cleared 
out.  Knocking  loose  the  clay,  which  had  burned 
almost  as  hard  as  the  stone,  he  found  himself  in 
possession  of  a  block  of  clear,  pure  flint.  By  means 
of  the  same  hammers  he  broke  this  into  pieces  of  a 
convenient  size  for  handling.  These  were  carried  to 
a  spot  near  by,  which  may  be  termed  a  "  blocking 
out "  shop.  Here  they  were  further  broken  by 
smaller  hammers,  and  brought  somewhat  into  the 
shape  of  the  implements  which  were  to  be  made 
from  them.  The  work  w^as  never,  or  very  seldom, 
carried  beyond  this  stage  at  the  spot  where  it  was 
begun ;  the  subsequent  manipulation  was  at  some 


FLINT  RIDGE.  43 

other  place,  best  designated  as  a  "  finishing  shop." 
These  are  characterized  by  quantities  of  small  chips, 
flakes  and  spalls,  broken  implements,  and  unfinished 
pieces,  which  were  unavailable  by  reason  of  some 
flaw  or  defect  not  discernible  until  the  final  work 
was  begun.  The  finishing  touches  were  always 
made  by  means  of  pressure  with  a  bone,  antler,  or 
some  other  tough  substance.  Many  finishing  shops 
are  located  near  the  quarries,  others  at  a  distance, 
some  of  them  several  miles  away.  The  principal 
one  was  near  the  cross-road  ;  here  a  pile  of  fine 
chips,  covering  one  fourth  of  an  acre,  and  fully  six 
feet  in  depth  at  the  central  portion,  existed  when 
the  country  wras  first  settled  by  the  whites,  but  from 
various  causes  it  has  been  reduced  until  it  now  is  all 
of  one  level.  This,  while  the  largest,  is  only  one  of 
several  hundred  such  places. 

Second  in  importance  only  to  Flint  Ridge  are  the 
aboriginal  quarries  of  Coshocton  County. 

They  are  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  Wal- 
hondins;  River,  four  miles  above  Warsaw.  The  flint 

o 

forms  the  cap-rock  of  a  high  hill  intersected  by 
numerous  ravines,  and  is  covered  by  a  layer  of  earth 
whose  thickness  varies  greatly  owing  to  the  contour 
of  the  surface. 

The  area  worked  over,  the  piles  of  earth  thrown 
aside  by  the  diggers,  and  the  fragments  and  blocks 
of  stone  scattered  about  in  profusion,  show  that  this 
was  long  a  place  of  resort  by  the  Indians. 

In  one  place  is  a  pit  more  than  one  hundred  feet 
in  diameter,  whose  depth  has  never  been  ascertained, 
owing  to  the  accumulated  earth  and  decayed  organic 


44  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

matter  that  forms  a  bog  within  it ;  but  the  quantity 
of  debris  scattered  on  every  side  shows  that  a  great 
amount  of  labor  was  expended  in  opening  it.  In 
many  other  places  in  the  vicinity  smaller  holes  bear 
witness  to  the  same  industry.  As  a  rule,  these  follow 
a  line  parallel  with  the  outcrop  of  the  flint.  One  of 
them  has  been  cleared  out,  and  the  process  of  exca 
vation  found  to  be  the  same  as  that  followed  at  Flint 
Ridge.  On  most  of  the  hill-tops,  the  superincum 
bent  earth,  having  in  some  places  a  thickness  of 
twenty-five  feet,  or  even  more,  proved  an  efficient 
barrier  against  such  tools  as  the  ancient  workers 
could  procure. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  this  quarry  is  in  a 
ridge  or  promontory  bounded  on  three  sides  by  the 
river  and  a  deep  ravine,  the  sides  being  very  steep- 
almost  precipitous  in  places.  A  careful  exploration 
of  its  summit  has  never  been  made,  but  sufficient 
evidence  is  at  hand  to  justify  the  statement  that  the 
Indians  began  work  at  the  outcrop  on  one  side,  next 
to  the  river,  and  followed  the  flint  stratum  entirely 
across  to  the  outcrop  above  the  ravine,  throwing  the 
earth  and  refuse  material  behind  them  as  they  pro 
ceeded.  Probably  five  acres  have  been  removed  in 
this  manner,  while  the  sum  of  the  areas  dug  in  the 
different  pits  would  be  still  greater. 

The  flint  forming  this  deposit  is  of  various  shades, 
from  a  pale  amber  or  "honey  color"  to  a  jet 
black,  much  of  it  being  banded  like  agate,  or  varie 
gated  with  colors  imperceptibly  blending.  The 
lighter  varieties  are  translucent  or  almost  transpar 
ent,  in  pieces  of  considerable  size ;  the  darker  are 


FLINT  RIDGE.  45 

usually  opaque  except  in  very  thin  chips.  In  much 
of  it  the  grain  is  as  close  as  in  the  finest  agate  or 
chalcedony,  consequently  it  is  susceptible  of  very 
delicate  manipulation.  Some  of  the  specimens  from 
this  locality  are  as  thin,  symmetrical,  and  highly 
finished  as  can  be  found  among  the  best  of  those 
belonging  to  the  neolithic  age  of  Europe,  and  many 
may  be  found  which,  after  decades  or  even  centuries 
of  exposure  to  an  inclement  climate,  have  an  edge  or 
point  almost  as  keen  as  a  piece  of  freshly  broken 
glass. 

To  a  people  living  in  the  condition  of  the  early 
inhabitants  of  the  Ohio  valley,  stone  possessing 
such  qualities  was  invaluable.  Arrows,  spears,  and 
knives  were  essential  to  their  existence,  and  in  the 
absence  of  steel  or  iron  no  better  material  is  ob 
tainable  for  the  manufacture  of  such  implements 
than  the  finer  grades  of  chalcedony,  of  which  the 
Coshocton  flint  is  a  variety,  or  the  "  Flint  Ridge 
Stone,1'  which  is  fully  equal  to  it.  That  the  abo 
rigines  fully  understood  their  worth  for  such  uses  is 
proven  by  the  evidences  still  remaining  of  the  great 
amount  of  labor  which  they  performed  in  obtaining 
them. 

There  are  various  other  flint  deposits  in  the  State 
that  have  been  worked  to  some  extent,  notably  those 
in  Perry  County.  In  fact  there  is  scarcely  a  county 
along  the  line  of  this  geological  formation,  from  the 
western  border  of  Pennsylvania  to  central  Kentucky, 
where  these  flint  quarries  do  not  occur.  None  of 
them,  however,  present  any  feature,  except  it  be  in 
the  character  of  the  stone,  that  is  different  from 


46  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN   OHIO. 

what  may  be  observed  in  the  two  localities  herein 
described. 

A  short  explanation  of  the  origin  of  flint  deposits 
may  not  be  out  of  place. 

Certain  microscopic  organic  bodies  belonging  to 
both  animal  and  plant  creation  extract  from  the  sea- 
water  in  which  they  exist  small  quantities  of  silica, 
which  enters  into  their  composition  as  lime  enters 
into  the  shells  of  mollusks  or  the  skeletons  of  ani 
mals  belonging  to  a  higher  class.  Most  sponges  also 
abstract  from  the  water  silica,  which  may  be  found 
in  them  in  minute  particles.  On  the  death  and  de 
cay  of  these  organisms  the  silica  is  released  and  set 
tles  to  the  bottom.  Being  in  the  finest  possible 
state  of  subdivision  it  forms  a  very  compact  mass 
which,  when  free  from  impurities,  hardens  into  fine 
grained  chalcedony  or  flint.  Should  there  be  con 
tained  in  it  foreign  substances  of  any  sort  the  stone 
is  correspondingly  altered,  and  there  may  result  all 
the  different  varieties  of  flint,  chert,  buhr,  and  simi 
lar  stone,  which  is  so  abundant  as  compared  with 
the  purer  kind. 

It  is  essential  in  this  method  of  formation  that  the 
water  in  which  it  has  its  origin  should  be  free  from 
currents,  and  containing  a  smaller  proportion  of  salt 
than  in  the  open  ocean,  otherwise  the  necessary 
forms  of  life  will  not  thrive.  These  conditions  can 
only  be  met  with  in  a  small  gulf  almost  enclosed  by 
land,  or  in  a  depression  protected  by  shoals,  and  in 
either  case  receiving  a  constant  supply  of  fresh 
water  with  silica  in  solution.  In  this  way  is  formed 
most  of  the  chalcedonic  stone  occurring  in  large  de- 


FLINT  RIDGE.  47 

posits.  Flint  Ridge  was  thus  made ;  we  find  the 
baser  stone  or  chert  around  the  edges  of  this  deposit 
nearer  to  the  old  shore  line,  while  the  finer  grain  of 
the  central  deposits  shows  a  body  of  water  un 
troubled  by  currents  and  free  from  sediment.  More 
over,  the  deposit  is  irregular  in  its  bedding,  being 
considerably  lower  in  some  places  than  in  others, 
showing  that  it  was  laid  down  on  an  uneven  bottom. 
The  single  blocks  or  boulders,  lying  in  some  places 
many  feet  above  the  main  body  of  flint,  are  of  later 
origin. 

A  second  manner  in  which  rock  of  this  character 
may  be  made  is  by  a  process  of  substitution  or  petri 
faction.  A  body  soluble  or  subject  to  decay,  being 
covered  with  water  charged  with  mineral  of  any 
sort,  will,  under  certain  conditions,  be  changed  from 
its  natural  form  into  one  exactly  similar  in  shape 
and  size  agreeing  in  composition  with  the  mineral 
sohition  in  which  it  is  immersed.  As  each  particle 
of  the  original  substance  is  removed  it  is  replaced  by 
a  particle  of  the  dissolved  mineral ;  and  after  a  time 
the  entire  body  is  thus  changed.  In  this  way  are 
formed  petrified  forests,  silicified  wood,  and  the 
many  fossil  remains  that  have  been  converted  into 
flinty  rock. 

Still  a  third  method  in  which  such  stone  is  formed 
is  by  deposition.  Water  settling  into  a  cavity  and 
evaporating  must  deposit  all  the  solid  matter  con 
tained  in  it.  If  this  be  repeated  a  sufficient  number 
of  times  the  cavity  will  be  filled  ;  and  should  the 
deposits  thus  made  be  of  matter  held  in  solution  and 
not  merely  carried  mechanically,  they  may  harden 


48  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

into  a  stone  much  more  compact  than  that  by  which 
they  are  surrounded.  Such  is  the  origin  of  most 
agates,  opals,  and  stones  of  that  character.  Should 
the  evaporation  be  exceedingly  slow  crystals  will 
be  produced,  their  size  and  perfection  depending 
upon  the  length  of  time  allowed  for  their  completion, 


CHAPTER  V. 

MADISONVILLE    CEMETERY. 

No  aboriginal  village  site  found  within  the  limits 
of  the  United  States  has  exceeded  in  extent  that  of 
Madisonville.  The  hundreds  of  important  discoveries 
made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Madisonville  Lite 
rary  and  Scientific  Society,  and  afterwards  completed 
by  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  at 
tracted  the  attention  of  archaeologists  both  abroad 
and  in  our  own  country.  It  is  extremely  difficult 
to  give  anything  like  a  comprehensive  treatment  of 
Madisonville  cemetery  in  one  brief  chapter.  In  at 
tempting  to  describe  the  more  remarkable  features 
of  the  place  we  are  compelled  to  draw  largely  from 
the  following  publications  :  Archaeological  Explora 
tions  of  the  Literary  and  Scientific  Society  of  Madi 
sonville,  Ohio,  part  ii.,  September  1  to  December 
8,  1879 ;  The  Journal  of  the  Cincinnati  Society  of 
Natural  History,  volume  iii.,  Nos.  1  and  3 ;  Ap 
pendix  A  of  Professor  John  T.  Short's  North 
Americans  of  Antiquity. 

The  cemetery  or  village  site  occupies  a  plateau 
facing  the  Little  Miami  River,  half  a  mile  west 
of  Batavia  Junction,  on  the  P.  C.  C.  <fe  St.  L.  Rail 
way.  Prior  to  the  spring  of  1879  no  thorough  work 

4  49 


5O  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

was  projected,  and  no  definite  knowledge  existed  as 
to  the  extent  and  character  of  the  remains.  Curi 
osity  collectors  of  the  vicinity  had  called  the  place 
"The  Pottery  Field." 

In  March,  1879,  Dr.  C.  L.  Metz  had  in  his  employ 
a  laborer  who,  prompted  by  curiosity,  sank  an  ex 
cavation  in  the  southwest  section  of  the  plateau. 
He  discovered  a  skeleton  at  the  depth  of  two  feet. 
The  editors  of  part  i.  of  the  Madisonville  Scientific 
Society's  report  say  with  reference  to  the  find:1 

"  This  was  the  initiatory  step  toward  a  most  important 
archaeological  discovery,  as  further  investigation  has  re 
vealed  the  interesting  fact  that  the  entire  plateau  is  the 
site  of  an  ancient  cemetery,  from  which  have  since  been 
exhumed  upward  of  four  hundred  skeletons  of  a  prehistoric 
people,  accompanied  by  numerous  evidences  of  their 
handiwork,  in  the  shape  of  flint  and  stone  implements, 
pipes,  pottery  ware,  charred  matting  and  corn,  tools,  and 
ornaments  of  bone,  shell,  and  copper,  some  of  which  are 
believed  to  be  unique,  all  indicating  an  industrious  people, 
who  lived  in  large  communities,  and  obtained  their  sup 
port  by  cultivating  the  soil,  as  well  as  by  fishing  and 
hunting." 

The  gentlemen  were  afterwards  permitted  to  take 
thousands  of  fine  implements,  ornaments,  and  uten 
sils,  together  with  nearly  eleven  hundred  skeletons, 
principally  of  brachycephalic  stock,  from  the  vari 
ous  slopes  of  the  plateau. 

"  On  Friday,  March  21,  1879  the  excavation,  begun 
on  the  previous  day,  was  continued,  and  a  skeleton  in  a 
horizontal  position,  with  its  head  to  the  south,  was  ex 
humed.  This  appeared  to  be  the  remains  of  a  female  of 

1  Madisonville  Historical  Society  Report,  part  i.,  page  3. 


MADISONVJLLE   CEMETERY.  5  I 

large  size  (5  feet  10  inches).  Near  the  left  hip  was  de 
posited  a  large  earthen  vessel,  capacity  about  one  gallon ; 
unfortunately  this  vessel  was  broken  by  the  spade  and 
thrown  out  of  the  trench,  but  most  of  the  fragments 
were  recovered.1  Near  the  head,  lay  four  hollow  cylin 
ders,  or  beads,  of  polished  bone,  two  to  four  inches  in 
length,  and  fragments  of  some  others  were  found ;  these 
were  apparently  portions  of  a  necklace.  Two  chisels  or 
gouge-shaped  implements,  one  of  horn,  and  the  other  of 
flint,  and  an  imperfect  perforated  stone  implement,  were 
also  found  with  these  remains." 

During  the  next  two  years  several  hundred  skele 
tons  were  exhumed,  buried  under  various  conditions 
and  in  many  attitudes.  The  sitting  posture  was  a 
favorite  mode  of  burial.  Frequently,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  cemetery  at  Fort  Ancient,  the  interments 
were  made  in  groups,  but  seldom  in  stone  graves. 
The  ash-pits  were  much  more  extensive  than  those  we 
excavated  at  Fort  Ancient.  On  April  22d  to  28th, 
several  ash-pits  were  opened,  varying  from  three  to 
six  feet  in  diameter.  In  them  they  found  the  unio 
shells,  fine  bone  implements,  broken  bones,  and  other 
debris  such  as  we  have  excavated  in  Warren  County. 
Several  entire  grooved  bone  implements  were  taken 
from  the  pits,  made  from  the  tibiae  of  the  elk  and 
deer.  One  large  scraper  was  made  from  the  right 
femur  of  an  elk. 

"  On  Wednesday,  April  23d,  a  second  ash-pit  was  ex 
plored,  but  only  a  few  fragments  of  pottery  were  found. 
Close  by  this  pit,  a  large  skeleton,  six  feet  two  inches  in 
length,  was  uncovered.  These  remains  were  in  a  hori 
zontal  position,  and  badly  decayed,  but  a  portion  of  the 

1  Madisonville  Historical  Society  Report,  part  i.,  page  4. 


52  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

cranium  was  preserved  as  an  interesting  pathological 
specimen.  In  the  right  parietal  was  a  perforation,  the 
effect  of  a  blow  which  had  crushed  the  skull,  and  which 
had  been  repaired  and  almost  obliterated  by  an  internal 
deposit  of  new  bone. 

"Another  ash-pit  was  opened  on  the  following  day,  and 
several  bone  implements,  together  with  animal  bones  and 
shreds  of  pottery,  were  found.  One  skeleton,  in  a  sitting 
position,  and  two  in  horizontal,  with  heads  toward  the 
south,  were  also  removed.  With  these  two  latter  skele 
tons  were  found  small  vessels,  one  at  the  head  of  each. 
Fragments  of  two  other  vessels  were  found  in  the  same 
excavation."  * 

It  is  very  singular  that  so  many  objects  should  be 
found  with  skeletons,  in  the  Madisonville  cemetery, 
and  comparatively  few  in  the  Fort  Ancient  and 
Oregonia  cemeteries.  In  the  latter  part  of  April 
the  members  of  the  society  dug  up  seven  skeletons 
in  one  day. 

"  Two  were  in  a  sitting  position,  three  horizontal,  with 
heads  to  the  south,  and  two  others  in  the  same  position 
with  heads  directed  east.  A  nearly  perfect  vessel,  and 
fragments  of  another  were  taken  from  near  the  crania  of 
those  lying  north  and  south.  A  polished  stone  implement 
(chisel-shaped),  was  found  lying  by  the  side  ;  and  among 
the  bones  of  the  right  hand  a  medium-sized  jasper  spear 
head  was  discovered.  The  third  horizontal  skeleton  was 
of  small  size,  and  the  skull  rested  upon  the  pelvic  bones 
of  the  second  skeleton."  a 

On  April  28th  they  took  from  one  ash-pit  a  large 
tube  and  the  bones  of  Mastodon  Americanus.  The 
most  important  relics  found  were  a  sandstone  pipe,  a 

1  Madisonville  Historical  Society  Report,  part  i.,  page  II. 
8  Ibid,,  p.  12. 


MADISONVILLE    CEMETERY.  53 

perforated  stone  disk,  numerous  fine  bone  awls,  bone 
beads,  and  implements  of  bone  and  flint ;  one  large 
vessel  of  about  three  quarts'  capacity,  and  another 
quite  small,  not  larger  than  an  ordinary  teacup — the 
latter  was  found  with  a  child's  skeleton. 

"On  Tuesday,  August  26th,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
discoveries  in  this  cemetery  was  made.  In  excavating  an 
ash-pit,  a  large  deposit  of  several  bushels  of  carbonized 
maize  was  found.  Newspaper  accounts  of  this  remarkable 
discovery  were  published  at  the  time,  which  are  more  or 
less  erroneous.  A  correct  diagram  of  the  pit  is  here 
given,  with  a  brief  description  of  its  contents. 

"  Layer  No.  I  consists  of  about  two  feet  of  rich  black 
earth  and  leaf  mould.  No.  2  is  fifteen  inches  of  gravelly 
clay,  in  which  were  found  numerous  animal  remains,  sev 
eral  implements  of  flint,  stone,  and  bone,  an  unfinished 
pipe,  and  some  charred  animal  bones. 

"  Next  came  layer  No.  3,  about  ten  inches  of  ashes,  in 
termingled  with  bones  of  a  great  number  of  animals,  of 
which  the  following  were  identified  :  deer,  elk,  raccoon, 
opossum,  mink,  woodchuck,  beaver,  and  turkey,  together 
with  unio  shells  of  various  species.  Immediately  below 
this  was  a  layer  (No.  4),  about  four  inches  thick,  of  coarse 
matting  and  twigs,  cornstalks  and  bark,  completely  car 
bonized.  No.  5  was  a  layer  of  shelled  corn,  probably 
three  or  four  bushels,  and  below  this  was  a  quantity  of 
ear  corn,  all  of  which  was  completely  carbonized.  On  the 
bottom  of  the  pit  was  a  layer  of  fire-cracked  boulders, 
with  some  ashes  and  a  few  animal  bones.  The  adjoining 
pit  was  separated  from  the  corn  pit  at  the  bottom  by 
about  six  inches  of  clay,  and  did  not  differ  from  the  usual 
pits,  except  that  no  implements  were  found  in  it. 

"  August  29th  and  3Oth,  two  ash-pits  were  explored, 
from  which  the  usual  implements  were  taken,  and  an  un 
finished  pipe  representing  a  bear  on  its  haunches.  An 


54  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

adult  skeleton  was  also  exhumed,  lying  horizontally,  head 
south  and  face  upwards  ;  a  vessel  was  found  at  its  feet. 
Immediately  under  this  skeleton  was  an  ash-pit  three  feet 
in  diameter,  and  four  feet  ten  inches  deep." 

In  Number  3,  volume  iii.,  the  report  of  the  Madison- 
ville  Society  describes  a  very  peculiar  occurrence : 

"  On  Tuesday,  January  2Oth,  an  ash-pit  was  opened 
three  feet  four  inches  in  diameter,  and  six  feet  in  depth  ; 
the  layer  of  leaf  mould  was  twenty-one  inches,  then  a  layer 
of  ashes  thirty-six  inches,  with  sherds,  unio  shells,  animal 
remains,  and  burnt  limestones ;  third,  a  layer  of  charcoal 
about  three  inches  in  thickness,  and  below  this  twelve 
inches  of  pure  grayish  ashes.  In  these  ashes  were  found 
an  entire  human  skeleton. 

"  This  skeleton  was  lying  in  the  bottom  of  the  pit  on 
its  back,  head  toward  the  northwest,  with  the  lower  limbs 
sharply  flexed  on  the  thighs.  Surrounding  the  skeleton 
were  a  number  of  flat  limestones  ten  or  twelve  inches 
square,  set  on  edge,  forming  a  wall  around  the  base  of  the 
pit.  All  these  stones  showed  distinctly  the  marks  of  fire, 
but  must  have  been  burned  before  being  placed  in  their 
present  position,  as  a  very  careful  examination  was  made 
of  the  walls  and  bottom  of  the  pit  and  no  traces  of  the 
action  of  fire  were  visible."  a 

In  the  report  of  the  society  for  1879,  part  ii., 
September  1st  to  December  31st,  are  many  remark 
able  discoveries  chronicled.  The  following  quota 
tions  will  give  an  idea  of  the  character  of  the 
burials. 

"  On  Thursday,  25th,  a  very  interesting  ornament  was 
found  with  the  skeleton  of  a  child.  It  is  made  of  a 


1  Madisonville  Historical  Society  Report ',  part  i.,  p.  27. 

2  Ibid.,  part  iii.,  p.  42. 


MADISONVILLE    CEMETERY.  55 

single  piece  of  copper  of  irregular  shape,  the  edges  of 
which  have  been  brought  together  so  as  to  form  a  ball,  or 
rather  like  a  sleigh-bell,  leaving  an  irregular  opening  on 
one  side.  A  small  hole  was  punched  through  the  top  and 
a  strip  of  copper  doubled  up  and  the  ends  pushed  through 
the  opening  from  the  inside,  forming  a  handle.  Inside 
this  bell  is  a  fragment  of  copper,  about  the  size  of  a  large 
pea,  and  when  the  ornament  is  shaken  it  produces  a  rat 
tling  or  tinkling  sound.  It  is  without  question  one  of  the 
most  unique  specimens  of  aboriginal  workmanship  ever 
recovered." 

"  On  October  /th,  three  skeletons  were  uncovered  ;  the 
first,  that  of  a  child,  about  six  years  of  age,  in  horizontal 
position,  head  east,  at  a  depth  of  fourteen  inches  ;  the 
next,  an  adult  female,  length  five  feet  two  inches,  head 
northeast,  depth  twenty  inches  ;  a  small  vessel  was 
found  at  the  right  side  of  the  cranium.  The  third 
skeleton,  an  adult  male,  was  lying  in  the  same  position, 
at  a  depth  of  twenty-two  inches.  From  near  the  right 
side  of  the  head  was  taken  a  vessel,  with  a  base  or 
pedestal,  the  only  one  of  this  peculiar  form  yet  found  ; 
beneath  the  cranium  was  a  small  discoidal  stone  and  a 
bone  fish-hook." ' 

"  On  Tuesday,  October  28th,  skeleton  No.  8  was  found, 
an  adult  male,  with  head  southeast,  length  five  feet  eight 
inches,  depth  fifteen  inches.  A  broken  vessel  was  found 
at  the  right  of  the  head,  and  on  the  left  side  a  pipe  made 
of  limestone,  well  finished,  and  carved  to  represent. the 
head  of  some  animal.  A  copper  ornament  was  also  found 
at  the  right  side  of  the  neck.  This  relic,  which  has  two 
bars  or  cross-arms,  is  made  of  a  very  thin  piece  of  copper, 
rolled  or  beaten  evenly,  with  small  perforation  at  one  end, 
doubtless  for  suspensory  purposes  ;  and,  excepting  the 
double  arms,  somewhat  resembles  the  copper  ornament 

1  Madisonville  Historical  Society  Report,  part  iii.,  p.  32. 
*  Ibid.,  part  ii.,  p.  32. 


56  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

found  in  the  stone  graves  of  Tennessee,  described  and 
figured  in  the  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody 
Museum  of  American  Archceology  and  Ethnology,  page 


"  The  total  absence  in  this  cemetery  of  any  evidences 
of  contact  with  European  races,  of  which  fact  mention 
was  made  in  our  first  paper,  makes  the  remarks  and  con 
clusions  of  Professor  Putnam,  relative  to  the  Tennessee 
ornament,  very  appropriate  in  this  connection. 

"  *  The  cross-like  form  of  this  ornament  may  give  rise  to 
the  question  of  its  derivation  ;  and  had  any  article  of 
European  make,  such  as  glass  beads,  brass  buttons,  etc., 
so  common  in  Indian  graves  subsequent  to  contact  with 
the  whites,  been  found  in  any  one  of  the  hundreds  of 
graves  I  opened  in  Tennessee,  I  should  consider  the  form 
of  this  ornament  the  result  of  contact  with  the  early 
missionaries  ;  but,  from  the  total  absence  of  articles  de 
noting  such  contact,  I  think  it  must  be  placed  in  the  same 
category  with  the  "  tablet  of  the  cross  "  at  Palenque,  and 
be  regarded  as  an  ornament  made  in  its  present  form, 
simply  because  it  is  an  easy  design  to  execute,  and  one 
of  natural  conception.'  " 

In  inspecting  the  contents  of  the  Peabody  Museum 
one  is  impressed  with  the  extent  of  the  collection 
from  Madisonville.  During  the  time  that  has  elapsed 
since  the  Madisonville  Scientific  Society  ceased  ope 
rations  upon  the  cemetery,  both  Professor  Putnam 
and  Dr.  Metz  have  been  very  active  in  the  interests 
of  the  Peabody  Museum.  There  are  so  many  large 
cases  filled  with  implements  and  debris  that  one  can 
obtain  nearly  as  complete  a  knowledge  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  the  village  by  studying  in  the  museum  as 
in  the  field.  The  display  is  admirably  made. 

1  Madisonville  Historical  Society  Report,  part  ii.,  p.  34. 


MADISONVILLE   CEMETERY.  $? 

From  an  inspection  of  this  collection,  the  one  in 
the  Cincinnati  Historical  Society  rooms,  and  another 
in  the  Art  Museum  in  Eden  Park,  Cincinnati,  we 
have  come  to  the  following  conclusions. 

More  of  the  short-heads  were  at  Madison ville  than 
upon  any  other  spot  in  the  Ohio  valley.  They 
must  have  dwelt  there  for  many  years,  using  the 
village  as  a  general  rendezvous,  to  which  to  return 
from  hunting,  fishing,  or  warring  expeditions.  They 
made  better  pottery  at  Madison  ville  than  at  any 
other  of  their  villages.  They  did  not  construct 
good  stone  graves,  such  as  we  find  farther  up  the 
Little  Miami  valley.  From  the  limited  number  of 
dolicocephalic  crania  taken  from  the  ash-pits  and 
cemetery,  we  would  infer  that,  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  their  town,  they  suffered  less  from  attack 
than  did  the  tribes  at  Fort  Ancient,  Oregonia,  or 
the  Scioto  valley. 

Possibly  the  Madisonville  people  may  have  re 
sorted  to  Fort  Ancient,  in  company  with  all  the 
short-heads  living  in  the  Miami  valley,  upon  the 
appearance  of  their  enemies.  It  was  a  splendid 
structure  for  defence,  and  at  so  short  a  distance  as 
to  render  access  to  it  comparatively  easy. 

We  feel  safe  in  placing  the  inhabitants  at  Madi 
sonville  at  the  head  of  the  brachycephalic  race  in 
Ohio.  Probably  the  Cacique  controlling  all  the 
mound  area  of  southern  Ohio  had  his  dwelling 
there. 


NOTE. — Dr.  Cresson  informs  me  that  he  is  impressed  by  the  resemblance 
of  many  of  the  bone  implements  found  at  the  Madisonville  cemetery,  dis 
played  in  the  cases  at  the  Peabody  Museum,  and  a  few  implements  exca- 


58  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

vated  by  .himself  at  the  place,  to  those  of  the  lake-dwelling  people  of 
Europe  during  the  stone  age  ;  in  fact,  bone  implements  seem  to  predomi 
nate  over  those  of  stone  at  this  cemetery  of  the  brachycephali. 

He  also  states  that  he  believes  Fort  Ambush  at  Foster's,  Ohio,  to  have 
been  a  stronghold  of  the  brachycephalic  people,  and  has  found  this  type  to 
predominate  in  the  small  aboriginal  graveyard  partially  excavated  by  him  at 
Burton's  farm,  near  Madisonville. 

W.  K.  M. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TUMULI    OF    THE    EAST    FORK    OF    THE    LITTLE    MIAMI 
BIVER.1 

THE  country  at  the  head  of  East  Fork  is  a 
monotonous  level,  except  where  broken  by  small 
streams,  but  the  lower  portion  is  hilly  and  we  find 
there  hill-top  mounds  such  as  have  been  mentioned  in 
the  first  chapter  of  this  work.  The  soil  is  generally 
of  clay  resulting  from  the  weathering  of  the  Cincin 
nati  limestone,  although  considerable  glacial  deposits 
are  of  frequent  occurrence.  We  do  not  observe 
the  wide  fertile  bottoms  and  productive  uplands 
so  characteristic  of  some  other  portions  of  Ohio 
where  evidences  of  aboriginal  occupancy  are 
abundant. 

As  the  size  and  number  of  the  mounds  and  earth 
works  seem  to  be  in  direct  ratio  to  the  fertility  of 
the  soil,  we  would  not  expect  to  find  within  the  area 
drained  by  the  East  Fork  so  many  large  mounds  as 
are  to  be  seen  in  sections  more  favored  by  nature, 
or  to  obtain  from  them  such  a  number  and  variety 
of  specimens  conforming  to  aboriginal  ideas  of 
utility  and  beauty.  Investigation  confirms  the 
belief.  Those  found  in  this  vicinity  do  not  contain 

1  May,  June,  and  July  1888. 
59 


60  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN   OHIO. 

much  of  importance,  and  from  their  construction  we 
would  infer  that  they  are  the  work  of  a  race  or 
tribe  who  placed  small  value  upon  this  form  of 
monuments.  It  has  been  thought  by  some  authors 
that  the  builders  were  a  small  clan  of  the  tribe 
which  erected  Fort  Ancient,  and  probably  had  its 
principal  seat  in  the  Miami  valley  with  its  chief 
settlement  in  a  great  village  at  Madisonville.  Others 
are  of  the  opinion  that  they  were  a  branch  of  a 
great  tribe  inhabiting  the  Scioto  valley.  Both 
theories  are  untenable,  as  we  will  proceed  to 
show. 

Fourteen  tumuli  were  examined  in  this  section, 
and  the  results  are  herewith  presented. 

MOUND  NUMBER  ONE. — This  structure  is  situated 
at  a  high  point  of  land  on  the  farm  of  Richard 
Shumard,  in  Stone  Lick  Township,  Clermont  County. 
It  overlooks  a  deep  and  narrow  valley  with  almost 
precipitous  sides,  at  the  bottom  of  which  flows  a 
small  stream  known  as  Rocky  Run.  It  was  two 
feet  in  height  in  the  centre,  nearly  circular  in  out 
line,  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and 
had  never  been  disturbed  by  plough  or  shovel. 

The  entire  mound  was  removed,  and  the  illustra 
tion  given  (Figure  in.)  shows  its  ground-plan.  A 
layer  of  charcoal  was  discovered  extending  across 
the  mound  one  foot  above  its  original  surface. 
Immediately  beneath  the  charcoal  was  a  floor  or 
pavement  of  limestone  slabs  (marked  D  in  the 
figure)  such  as  may  be  found  in  the  creek  beds  or 
along  the  hillsides.  They  were  from  twenty  to 
thirty  inches  in  length,  about  a  foot  in  breadth. 


TUMULI  OF  EAST  FORK. 


6l 


and  weighed  perhaps  forty  or  fifty  pounds  each. 
This  pavement  measured  nine  or  ten  feet  in 
breadth. 

On  taking  away  the  stones  at  the  central  portion, 
we  found  a  layer  three  inches  in  thickness  of  com- 


FIG.  in. — Ground  plan  of  mound  No.   I.     Skeleton  surrounded  by  stone 
slabs.     See  page  60. 

mon  soil,  covering  a  skeleton  of  medium  size  (A  in 
the  figure).  We  removed  this  dirt,  which  had  evi 
dently  been  placed  to  prevent  the  stones  from 
coming  in  contact  with  the  body,  and  thus  endeav 
ored  to  secure  the  skull.  Although  the  greatest 


62  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

possible  care  was  exercised,  atmospheric  agencies 
had  reduced  the  bones  to  such  a  fragile  state  that 
their  removal  was  an  utter  impossibility,  and  we 
were  unable  to  preserve  any  portion  of  the  skeleton 
save  the  lower  and  upper  jaws  and  some  fragments 
of  the  skull. 

Near  the  right  side  of  the  skeleton  lay  a  small 
polished  bone  awl  or  perforator  (c  in  the  figure) ; 
about  twenty  inches  from  the  right  shoulder  was  a 
finely  polished  celt  of  greenstone  (B),  four  and  a 
half  inches  in  length  and  two  and  one  fourth  wide. 
Underneath  the  body  was  a  mass  of  red  ochre. 

GRAVES. — Before  proceeding  with  the  excavation 
of  other  mounds  along  Stone  Lick  Run  several 
graves  were  examined.  Although  these  differ  some 
what  in  minor  details  they,  as  a  general  thing, 
correspond  in  the  method  of  their  construction. 
First,  the  surface  soil  is  removed  to  the  depth  of  a 
few  inches,  possibly  as  much  as  a  foot ;  then  large 
flat  stones  are  laid  down,  with  other  stones  set  on 
edge  around  this  floor,  forming  a  rude,  box-shaped 
structure  in  which  the  body  is  placed.  Finally,  a 
covering  of  flat  stones  is  placed  over  the  top.  When 
the  vault  is  finished  a  mass  of  earth  or  stone,  or 
both,  is  thrown  over  it  and  the  structure  is  com 
plete.  Inside  these  box-shaped  graves  were  found 
skeletons  in  various  stages  of  decay.  No  objects  or 
implements  were  placed  with  the  remains.1  This 
peculiarity  has  been  frequently  noticed  in  graves  at 
Fort  Ancient  and  throughout  Greene  County. 

1  It  is  singular  that  no  stone  floors  exist  in  the  Fort  Ancient  or  Oregonia 
graves. 


TUMULI   OF  EAST  FORK.  63 

MOUND  NUMBER  Two. — The  structure  lies  upon 
the  farm  of  Harvey  Anderson,  just  north  of  the  vil 
lage  of  Marathon,  in  Clermont  County.  It  is  upon 
one  of  the  highest  points  in  the  vicinity,  and  from  it 
a  view  can  be  obtained  of  the  surrounding  country 
for  a  distance  of  three  miles.  It  is  now  eight  feet 
high  and  fifty  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base ;  but,  as 
the  field  in  which  it  is  situated  has  been  cultivated 
for  many  years,  its  original  altitude  has  been  consid 
erably  reduced.  Old  citizens  of  the  village  informed 
us  that  before  it  was  cleared  off,  it  stood  twelve  or 
thirteen  feet  in  height,  and  was  covered  by  large 
trees. 

The  work  of  excavation  was  begun  upon  the  east 
side ;  a  trench  twenty  feet  in  width  was  carried 
through  on  a  level  with  the  original  surface,  and 
continued  until  within  a  few  feet  of  its  western 
margin. 

For  some  distance  nothing  was  discovered  except 
the  usual  charcoal  flakes,  animal  bones,  and  chips  of 
flint  which  are  found  in  all  these  structures.  The 
presence  of  such  objects  has  no  significance,  as  they 
are  scattered  over  the  surface  about  every  Indian 
village  or  camp,  and  are  gathered  up  with  the  earth 
that  is  taken  to  form  the  mound. 

Fifteen  feet  from  the  edge  a  layer  of  bark  was 
discovered,  about  one  inch  in  thickness.  It  extend 
ed  nearly  the  entire  width  of  our  trench,  and  was 
decayed  to  such  an  extent  that  only  a  few  small 
pieces  retained  their  structure  sufficiently  to  be  iden 
tified.  The  bark  rested  upon  a  layer  of  ordinary 
clay  eighteen  inches  thick ;  below  was  a  stratum  of 


64  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

burnt  earth,  then  another  layer  of  clay,  and  finally 
the  structure  resting  upon  the  original  surface,  a  bed 
of  yellow  sand.  This  extended  from  the  point  to 
the  centre,  where  it  came  to  an  end  and  was  replaced 
by  a  bed  of  black  earth,  mingled  with  charcoal  and 
decayed  wood,  reaching  to  about  the  same  distance 
on  the  western  side. 

It  was  evident  that  the  burned  earth  was  not  due 
to  a  fire  made  at  this  place.  It  had  been  carried 
from  some  outside  point  and  deposited  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  remainder  of  the  material  composing 
the  mound.  Then  a  large  fire  is  built  upon  the 
ground,  that  is  allowed  to  remain  afterwards  undis 
turbed,  the  effects  of  the  heat  being  plainly  marked 
at  the  surface  and  become  less  apparent  as  the  depth 
increases,  until  they  are  no  longer  perceptible.  In 
the  mass  referred  to  the  color  was  of  a  bright  red 
and  uniform  throughout.  The  line  of  separation  be 
tween  it  and  the  next  lower  stratum  was  so  plainly 
marked  as  to  admit  of  no  doubt  in  the  matter. 

About  four  feet  east  of  the  centre  and  two  feet 
above  the  base  a  skull  was  uncovered,  but  not  the 
slightest  trace  of  any  other  bones  could  be  found. 
As  the  surrounding  earth  was  of  uniform  consistency, 
the  inference  is  unavoidable  that  no  other  portion  of 
the  body  to  which  this  skull  belonged  had  been 
placed  there.1 

A  little  to  the  east  of  the  highest  portion  of  the 
mound,  about  three  feet  beneath  the  surface,  was 
found  the  skeleton  of  an  intrusive  burial,  covered  by 

1  In  Scioto  valley  mound  interments  of  partial  skeletons  have  been 
observed. 


TUMULI   OF  EAST  FORK.  65 

a  thin  layer  of  bark  or  rotten  wood.  Just  west,  and 
at  a  slightly  higher  level,  were  two  small  thin 
masses  of  burned  clay,  separated  by  six  inches  of 
clean  sand ;  this  deposit,  however,  seemed  to  have 
no  connection  with  the  skeleton. 

Near  the  centre  of  the  mound  a  pit  had  been  dug 
to  a  depth  of  nearly  two  feet  below  the  original  sur 
face,  and  the  sides  of  it  burnt  quite  hard  ;  this  was 
filled  with  ashes,  fragmentary  bones,  and  calcined 
limestone,  intermingled  with  which  were  a  few 


FIG.  iv. — Various  ceremonial  and  ornamental  objects,  Miami 
valley,  Ohio. 

mussel  shells,  pottery  fragments,  and  pieces  of  deer 
antlers.  Just  above  it  was  a  slab  of  limestone  fif 
teen  inches  wide,  and  nearly  three  feet  long,  which 
had  been  almost  disintegrated  by  an  intense  heat. 
Adhering  to  the  upper  side  of  the  stone  were  por 
tions  of  ribs  and  traces  of  vertebrae,  burned  until 
they  were  scarcely  distinguishable.  It  was  plain 
that  a  skeleton  or  body  had  been  placed  on  this 
stone,  and  then  cremated. 

The   slab   was   carefully  taken   from   its    resting- 


66  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN   OHIO. 

place  and  put  where  the  rays  of  the  sun  would  not 
fall  upon  it ;  we  hoped  to  preserve  it  entire,  but  ex 
posure  to  the  atmosphere  caused  the  stone  to  crumble 
rapidly,  and  the  bones  to  scale  off  bit  by  bit,  until 
at  last  nothing  remained  but  a  shapeless  mass. 

On  the  east  and  west  sides,  at  very  nearly  equal 
distances  (about  ten  feet)  from  the  central  pit,  were 
two  small  holes,  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  four 
teen  inches  deep,  which  were  very  smooth  and  sym 
metrical  ;  a  small  amount  of  ashes  lay  at  the  bottom 
of  each.  Holes  of  this  description  are  called 
" pockets,"  or  "post-holes,"  and  are  of  frequent  oc 
currence  in  the  mounds.  In  them  posts  or  logs 
were  frequently  placed  as  supports  for  small  struc 
tures.1  Other  holes,  or  pockets,  similar  to  these, 
were  found  above  the  lower  stratum.  Each  was 
neatly  covered  with  a  chunk  of  hard-burned  clay, 
and  had  in  it  a  few  shells  and  a  small  amount  of  fine 
black  earth. 

At  the  centre 8  of  the  mound,  just  below  the  dark 
stratum,  lay  a  decomposed  skeleton.  Above  this 
stratum,  and  a  few  feet  west  of  the  first,  lay  another 
skeleton ;  this  was  so  much  decayed  that  we  could 
only  save  a  portion  of  the  lower  jaw.  Still  farther 
west,  just  above  the  edge  of  the  red  clay  stratum, 

1  At  the  Hopewell  group,  in  1891,  we  came  upon  numerous  burials  in 
holes  or  caves  three  by  five  or  four  by  seven  feet  in  extent.  The  skeletons 
were  usually  covered  by  logs  and  saplings,  placed  two  or  three  feet  above 
them,  and  resting  upon  post  supports.  When  the  coverings  decayed,  con 
siderable  earth  would  fall  into  the  interior.  But  so  long  had  the  logs 
supported  the  earth  above  that  it  formed  a  partial  arch,  the  remains  lying  in 
the  caves  thus  formed. 

2  It  may  be  well  to  explain  that  by  "  centre  "  is  meant  the  line  extending 
from  the  summit  to  the  middle  point  of  the  area  covered  by  the  mound. 

— W.  K.  M. 


TUMULI  OF  EAST  FORK.  67 

lay  a  rather  small  skeleton,  evidently  that  of  a  young 
person. 

All  these  burials  were  placed  with  heads  to  the 
west,  and  each,  except  the  intrusive  one  at  the  top, 
was  within  a  space  eighteen  by  thirty-six  inches,  in 
dicating  that  the  bodies  had  been  folded  or  doubled 
up  before  they  were  placed  in  the  ground.  Nothing 
of  interest  was  found  with  them. 

MOUXD  NUMBER  FOUR. — This  is  in  Wayne  Town 
ship,  Clermont  County,  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Crane. 
It  was  small,  and  contained  very  little  charcoal  or 
burned  earth. 

The  remains  of  two  badly  decayed  skeletons  were 
found.  On  the  breast  of  one  lay  a  small  chisel- 
shaped  celt,  and  on  the  other  was  an  arrow-head ; 
by  the  side  of  the  latter  implement  lay  a  scraper  of 
red  flint.  Nothing  else  was  found. 

MOUND  NUMBER  FIVE. — This  is  situated  on  the 
farm  of  Mr.  John  Boyle,  in  Perry  Township,  Cler 
mont  County  ;  it  is  in  a  dense  forest  on  a  level  table 
land,  there  being  no  valley  or  stream  within  three 
miles.  It  measures  four  feet  in  height,  and  thirty 
feet  across  the  base.  Surrounding  the  mound  is  an 
earthen  embankment  two  feet  high  and  seven  feet  in 
breadth,  with  a  shallow  interior  ditch. 

Two  bodies  had  been  interred ;  one  at  the  centre, 
on  the  original  surface,  the  other  two  feet  above. 
Beneath  the  former,  of  which  only  a  few  fragments 
remained,  were  a  rude  flint  arrow-head  and  a  sand 
stone  pebble  with  two  small  cup-shaped  depressions 
on  opposite  sides. 

The  upper  skeleton  was  partially  covered  by  a 


68 


PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 


layer  of  mica,  consist 
ing  of  forty-one  sheets, 
the  edges  of  which  had 
been  slightly  trimmed 
to  give  them  a  more 
regular  outline.  They 
occupied  an  irregular 
space  of  about  two  by 
three  feet  and  were  so 
placed  that  the  edges 
somewhat  overlapped  in 
the  same  manner  as 
scales  on  fish.  A  single 
piece  lying  to  one  side, 
was  much  larger  than 
the  others,  being  five 
by  eight  and  one  half 
inches,  and  half  an  inch 
thick.  The  skeleton  it 
self  was  so  decayed  that 
no  portion  of  it  could 
be  recovered. 

A  careful  examina 
tion  of  the  entire  tumu 
lus  disclosed  nothing 
more  than  the  objects 
mentioned. 

MOUND  NUMBER  Six. 
—The  mound  about  to 
be  described  lies  upon 
very  high  ground  and 
overlooks  the  East  Fork. 


TUMULT  OF  EAST  FORK.  69 

It  lies  upon  the  farm  of  Mr.  John  Boyle,  in  Brown 
County,  one  mile  and  a  half  north  of  the  village  of 
St.  Martins.  It  was  originally  much  higher  than 
at  present,  but  the  surface  has  been  plowed  over  for 
so  many  years  that  the  mound  is  now  only  about 
seven  feet  in  altitude  with  a  diameter  of  seventy 
feet,  while  a  circular  embankment  of  considerable 
elevation,  by  which  it  was  formerly  surrounded,  has 
almost  entirely  disappeared. 

In  this,  as  in  many  other  mounds  that  it  has  been 
our  privilege  to  examine,  a  hole  had  been  dug  at 
some  former  time,  from  the  summit  directly  toward 
the  base,  but,  in  this  case,  the  work  had  been  aban 
doned  before  any  damage  ensued. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  so  many  persons  take 
it  upon  themselves  to  destroy  these  interesting  re 
mains  merely  for  the  sake  of  such  relics  as  may  be 
found.  The  construction  and  method  of  arrange 
ment  of  the  contents  are  what  we  must  depend  upon 
for  scientific  classification,  and  yet  these  are  the  very 
points  to  which  relic-hunters  pay  no  attention.  Even 
intelligent  men  who  have  witnessed  or  assisted  in 
the  work  of  demolition  can  give  only  the  most  vague 
and  unsatisfactory  statements  in  regard  to  them. 
Such  methods  are  objectionable,  not  only  on  account 
of  the  unworthy  motives  that  impel  the  searchers, 
but  because  if  prosecuted  to  any  extent  they  com 
pletely  ruin  the  mound  for  subsequent  investigations. 

In  order  to  make  a  thorough  examination  we 
began  our  work  by  opening  from  the  south  side  a 
trench  twenty  feet  in  width.  (Figure  v.  represents 
a  vertical  section  through  the  centre.) 


7O  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

Our  first  find  was  made  at  a  point  about  eighteen 
feet  distant  from  the  centre.  Here  we  came  upon  a 
large  pile  of  burned  earth  and  charcoal,  (A  in  the 
figure)  intermingled  with  fragmentary  remains  of 
human  bones  which  had  been  burned  until  they 
were  almost  destroyed ;  but  as  there  was  about  a 
bushel  of  small  pieces,  it  was  obvious  that  several 
bodies  had  been  cremated.  They  had  not,  however, 
been  burned  on  the  spot,  for  not  only  did  the  sur 
rounding  earth  show  no  evidence  of  the  intense  heat 
that  would  have  been  required  to  reduce  them  to 
the  condition  in  which  they  were  found,  but  the 
mass  itself  showed  the  curvature  of  the  mound's 
surface,  the  end  nearest  the  centre  being  about  two 
feet  higher  than  that  first  struck. 

Several  similar,  but  smaller,  masses  were  found 
on  the  original  surface  at  various  distances  from  the 
centre,  but  none  of  them  were  so  large  as  the  one 
first  discovered. 

We  can  offer  no  explanation  of  these  singular  de 
posits  ;  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  suppose  their  pres 
ence  accidental,  or  to  consider  them  in  any  other 
way  than  as  having  a  direct  connection  with  the 
funeral  ceremonies  held  at  the  interment  of  the  per 
sonage  in  whose  honor  the  mound  had  been  erected  ; 
and  yet  had  this  been  the  case,  we  would  naturally 
expect  the  cremation  to  have  taken  place  at  the  spot 
where  the  bodies  were  entombed. 

Forming  a  circle  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter 
around  the  centre  of  the  mound  was  a  series  of 
pockets,  placed  about  three  feet  apart.  These  were 
twenty  inches  across  the  top,  fourteen  to  sixteen 


TUMULI   OF  EAST  FORK.  *J\ 

inches  at  the  bottom,  three  feet  deep,  and  filled  with 
small,  flat,  slightly  burned  pieces  of  limestone, 
weighing  from  two  to  three  pounds  each ;  they  are 
shown  at  B  in  the  figure.  The  spaces  between  the 
stones  were  tightly  packed  with  earth  which  had 
also  been  burned.  No  relics  or  remains  of  any  kind 
whatever  were  placed  with  them. 

While,  as  before  mentioned,  these  pockets  are  of 
frequent  occurrence,  in  all  our  experience  of  mound 
opening  we  have  never  met  with  another  instance  in 
which  they  were  completely  filled  with  burned 
stones  ;  nor  can  we  recall  a  similar  example  in  the 
reports  of  other  explorers.1 

As  we  proceeded  with  the  trench  a  heavy  layer 
of  earth  was  discovered  (c),  burned  until  the  upper 
surface  had  become  a  bright  red  color ;  this  lay 
about  six  or  seven  inches  above  the  large  pockets, 
and  was  separated  from  them  by  a  mass  of  very  fine 
black  earth  (D). 

The  clay  composing  the  burned  layer  had  been 
placed  in  the  mound  when  in  its  natural  state,  and  a 
fire  kept  burning  upon  it  for  a  considerable  time. 
The  earth  above  showed  some  evidences  of  the  heat, 
as  though  it  had  been  piled  on  while  the  clay  was 
still  very  hot;  but  owing  to  the  thickness  of  the 
latter  the  heat  had  not  penetrated  to  the  black  loam 
below ;  at  least  not  to  a  sufficient  extent  to  produce 
any  alteration  in  its  appearance. 

When  we  reached  the  centre  of  the  mound  we 
made  the  most  important  find  of  the  week.  A  rough 

1  Since  the  above  was  written  pockets  filled  with  burnt  stone  were  examined 
in  the  Hopewell  group  of  mounds,  Ross  County. — W.  K.  M. 


72  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

altar  of  hard  burned  clay,  represented  by  E  in  the 
figure,  had  been  constructed  six  inches  above  the 
burned  stratum,  and  resting  upon  a  little  mass  of 
charcoal.  It  was  oval  in  outline,  measuring  seven 
by  nine  feet,  the  longer  axis  being  east  and  west,  and 
was  ten  inches  in  height.  The  upper  surface  dipped 
slightly  from  the  edge  toward  the  centre  ;  extended 
upon  it  at  full  length,  with  head  to  the  east,  lay  a 
skeleton  (F).  Both  the  skeleton  and  the  altar  were 
unusually  well  preserved,  but  the  latter  was  so  thin 
and  soft  that  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  remove  it ; 
an  enlarged  view  of  them  is  given  in  Fig.  vi. 

Just  above  the  forehead  of  the  skeleton,  and  bent 
back  over  the  crown,  was  a  thin  plate  about  eight 
inches  in  length,  and  five  inches  in  breadth,  made  of 
copper  ore,  probably  from  the  Lake  Superior  region, 
and  evidently  beaten  out  in  the  cold  state.  It  had  a 
circular  indentation  in  the  lower  edge,  as  if  designed 
to  fit  over  the  bridge  of  the  nose,  and  was  perforated 
near  the  top  with  two  small  holes  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  apparently  to  afford  means  of 
vision.  It  is  shown  in  Fig.  vi. 

The  finding  of  the  plate  is  a  noteworthy  feature, 
as  such  relics  rarely  occur  in  this  locality. 

Another  skeleton  (G  in  Figure  v.)  was  found 
east  of  the  altar,  lying  just  above  the  stratum  of 
burnt  earth.  No  objects  of  any  description  were 
placed  with  it. 

The  skulls  of  these  two  skeletons  were  very 
fragile  and  it  required  the  utmost  care  to  secure 
them.  As  soon  as  uncovered  they  were  given  a 
heavy  coat  of  varnish,  left  in  the  sun  for  half  an 


73 


74  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

hour  to  diy  thoroughly,  and  then  another  coat  of 
varnish  was  put  on.  When  this  had  dried  they 
were  removed  from  their  resting-place,  packed  in 
cotton,  in  baskets,  and  then  carried  to  Cincinnati  by 
hand,  so  there  would  be  no  danger  of  breakage. 
This  amount  of  trouble  may  seem  uncalled  for,  but 
as  there  is  only  a  comparatively  small  number  of 
Mound  Builders'  skulls  in  the  United  States,  one 
cannot  be  too  careful  with  specimens  in  good 
condition. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  mound,  lying  underneath 
the  burnt  clay,  with  head  toward  the  east,  was  the 
skeleton,  tolerably  well  preserved,  of  an  individual 
somewhat  below  the  average  size ;  this  is  repre 
sented  by  H  in  the  figure.  A  small  piece  of  galena, 
which  showed  some  attempts  at  working,  lay  near 
the  skull. 

There  were  some  animal  bones  scattered  through 
out  the  mound,  mostly  those  of  the  deer.  About 
three  and  a  half  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  mound, 
a  thin  layer  of  bark  and  charcoal  (i)  extended 
beyond  these  deposits  on  every  side. 

This  was  all  of  importance  that  the  structure  con 
tained  ;  we  spent  a  full  week  upon  the  excavation, 
and  left  nothing  undone. 

MOUND  NUMBER  SEVEN. — The  position  of  this 
mound  was  on  a  tract  of  low  ground  near  a  small 
creek  in  Brown  County  about  one  mile  distant  from 
Number  Two,  and  owned  by  the  same  gentleman. 
Its  height  was  three  feet,  while  its  breadth  was 
about  forty  feet.  It  was  composed  in  a  large  part 
of  limestone  slabs  averaging  in  weight  forty  or  fifty 


TUMULI   OF  EAST  FORK.  75 

pounds  each,  which  were  taken  from  the  stream 
near  by,  and  thrown  in  at  random.  The  want  of 
regularity  in  their  position,  and  the  compactness  with 
which  the  clay  had  settled  into  the  spaces  between 
them,  made  the  work  of  excavation  very  difficult. 

In  the  exact  centre  of  the  mound  was  a  hard 
burnt  altar  or  elliptical  layer  of  clay  about  six  inches 
thick,  three  feet  long,  and  two  feet  wide,  resting 
upon  the  original  surface ;  above  this  were  a  few 
inches  of  sand,  upon  which  lay  the  skeleton  of  a 
child  perhaps  six  years  of  age.  The  bones  were 
very  badly  decayed  ;  some  had  entirely  disappeared, 
while  of  others  only  faint  traces  remained.  A  large 
slab  was  placed  on  edge  at  the  side  of  the  body,  an 
other  at  the  head,  and  one  at  the  feet.  It  is  unusual 
to  find  such  care  taken  in  the  burial  of  so  young  an 
individual.  No  relic  of  any  kind  was  found  in  the 
tumulus,  except  a  small  arrow-head  by  the  side  of 
the  skeleton. 

MOUXD  NUMBER  EIGHT. — Upon  the  farm  of  Mr. 
J.  G.  Hutchison,  two  miles  and  a  half  southeast  of 
Marathon,  are  eight  mounds  placed  in  the  form  of  a 
semicircle  upon  the  brow  of  a  high  hill  overlook 
ing  the  valley  of  the  East  Fork ;  they  average  two 
feet  in  height  and  thirty  in  diameter,  and  stand 
at  intervals  varying  from  sixty  to  two  hundred 
feet.  Groups  of  this  character  are  not  common  in 
Ohio. 

Judging  from  their  contents  we  conclude  that 
they  were  all  erected  at  the  same  time  to  cover  the 
remains  of  individuals  who  fell  in  battle.  Twenty 
persons,  whose  skeletons  we  found  in  more  or  less 


76  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

advanced  state  of  decomposition,  were  here  interred 
Some  of  the  skulls  were  crushed  and  broken,  several 
having  large  holes  in  the  sides  as  if  a  fatal  wound 
had  been  inflicted  with  a  rude  stone  axe.  While 
the  artificial  objects  found  were  few,  and  of  small 
importance,  the  fractures  in  the  bones  of  the  head 
and  the  condition  of  some  of  the  other  bones  make 
the  mounds  very  interesting. 

As  the  mounds  were  quite  small  we  removed  each 
one  entirely,  generally  commencing  at  the  east  or 
south  side. 

Number  Eight  was  near  the  centre  of  the  cres 
cent.  It  consisted  mainly  of  earth,  although  some 
eight  or  nine  wagon-loads  of  limestone  slabs  were 
scattered  through  it.  Upon  the  east  side,  near  the 
bottom,  were  five  large  flat  stones  placed  on  edge, 
while  others  were  laid  horizontally,  thus  enclosing  a 
long  narrow  space.  We  looked  in  vain  for  any 
traces  of  the  body  which  had  undoubtedly  been 
placed  within  the  tomb — not  the  slightest  fragment 
of  decayed  bone  remained ;  atmospheric  agencies 
had  resolved  them  all  into  their  elements. 

Near  the  centre  of  the  mound  and  lying  upon  the 
original  surface  of  the  hill-top  were  three  badly  de 
cayed  skeletons.  One  of  the  skulls  we  managed  to 
save  nearly  entire,  but  the  others  were  too  far  gone 
to  be  removed  even  in  pieces.  By  the  side  of  the 
best-preserved  individual  lay  a  small,  keen-edged  celt 
of  syenite,  five  inches  in  length  and  two  in  width. 

One  of  the  fragmentary  skulls  had  four  flint  im 
plements  about  two  by  three  inches  lying  just  back 
of  it  near  the  occipital  bone. 


TUMULI  OF  EAST  FORK.  77 

MOUND  NUMBER  TEN. — This  structure  contained 
many  irregular  pieces  of  limestone  and  sandstone 
scattered  throughout  its  entire  upper  portion.  Near 
the  base  was  a  skeleton,  above  the  average  in  size,  and 
quite  well  preserved,  which  lay  upon  the  floor  of 
seven  large  flat  stones.  The  stones  had  been  selected 
with  great  care  and  were  fitted  together  as  closely  as 
it  would  be  possible  to  join  them  without  artificially 
cutting  the  edges  or  using  cement.  We  saved  the 
cranium  nearly  entire  ;  it  shows  a  large  ragged  aper 
ture  upon  the  right  side,  as  though  the  whole  temple 
had  been  crushed  in  before  death.  The  worn  con 
dition  of  the  teeth  indicated  that  the  person  was 
well  past  middle  age. 

MOUND  NUMBER  ELEVEN. — This  was  the  most 
western  one  in  the  crescent  and  was  the  largest,  as 
well  as  the  most  interesting,  in  the  entire  group. 
Like  the  others,  it  contained  stones,  and,  in  addition, 
some  charcoal  flakes  were  scattered  through  the  first 
eighteen  inches  of  soil. 

We  uncovered  in  the  course  of  our  excavation  a 
layer,  four  by  eight  feet,  composed  of  ten  large  flat 
stones,  which  proved  to  be  the  top  of  a  box-shaped 
coffin  of  slabs,  containing  a  skeleton  in  a  better  state 
of  preservation  than  any  other  we  found  while  here. 

Usually  the  bones  in  mounds  and  graves  are  dis 
placed  and  broken  by  the  superincumbent  earth  or 
stones,  or  softened  to  such  an  extent  by  the  moisture 
of  the  soil  as  to  crumble  when  an  attempt  is  made 
to  remove  the  dirt  from  them ;  even  if  they  remain 
in  good  order  and  condition,  there  is  generally  such 
a  close  correspondence  in  color  between  them  and 


7 8  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO, 

the  earth  in  which  they  lie  that  it  is  almost  impossi 
ble  to  obtain  a  good  photographic  view  of  them  ;  but 
in  this  case  a  most  excellent  negative  could  have 
been  secured,  for  every  bone  was  in  its  proper  posi 
tion.  All  were  perfect  except  the  skull,  which 
showed  the  same  marks  of  violence  as  the  others, 
and  the  left  humerus,  which  was  broken  near  the 
upper  end.  As  there  was  no  weight  upon  any  of 
the  bones,  these  fractures  undoubtedly  were  the 
result  of  injuries  which  terminated  the  life  of  the 
person  whose  remains  had  been  buried  here. 

MOUND  NUMBER  TWELVE. — This  is  one  of  the 
smaller  tumuli,  and  is  the  fourth  from  the  eastern 
extremity  of  the  crescent.  It  was  opened  by  Mr. 
Cowen,  who  reported  that  the  structure  contained 
many  stones,  and  that  a  number  of  small  deposits  of 
ashes  and  animal  bones  were  discovered  here  and 
there  throughout  the  excavation. 

There  was  a  decayed  skeleton  near  the  eastern 
side,  and  a  few  traces  of  another  skeleton  by  which 
lay  a  roughly  chipped  arrow-head,  close  to  the  wes 
tern  margin.  Lying  upon  the  base  near  the  centre 
were  many  small  fragments  of  a  clay  vessel,  made 
from  a  mixture  of  very  coarse  clay  and  pulverized 
shells  ;  like  all  pottery  found  in  the  valley  of  East 
Fork  it  was  very  rude,  apparently  representing  the 
lowest  degree  of  art  in  pottery  making. 

The  other  mounds  of  this  group  were  mingled 
masses  of  earth  and  stone,  in  which  nothing  was 
found  except  slight  traces  of  bone,  sufficient  to  show 
that  each  had  been  erected  above  the  remains  of  a 
single  individual. 


TUMULI  OF  EAST  FORK.  79 

Satisfied  that  the  large  number  of  tumuli  opened 
in  East  Fork  valley  had  given  us  sufficient  material 
for  our  conclusions  regarding  the  tribe  inhabiting  it, 
we  ceased  operations  and  located  in  Warren  County 
in  the  valley  of  the  Little  Miami  River. 

Primitive  man  in  the  East  Fork  did  not  possess 
the  mental  capacity  of  his  neighbors  to  the  east  and 
west.  He  was  content  to  bury  his  dead  in  small 
mounds  and  shallow  graves.  He  used  the  rudest  of 
implements,  manufacturing  only  such  as  were  abso 
lutely  necessary  articles.  The  limited  quantity  of 
copper  and  mica  he  employed  was  undoubtedly 
secured  from  the  Scioto  valley  people. 

We  have  no  evidence  that  he  cultivated  the  soil, 
and  are  of  the  opinion  that  he  lived  solely  by  hunting 
and  fishing.  The  skeletons  exhumed  from  his  burial- 
places  prove  him  to  have  been  low  in  stature  with 
receding  forehead.  His  crania  are  of  the  dolico- 
cephalic  type.  He  lived  so  near  the  Clinton  County 
villages  of  his  own  race  that  we  think  he  was  inti 
mately  associated  with  them.  As  remarked  in 
Chapter  ix.  it  is  probable  that,  in  company  with 
the  Clinton  County  long-headed  savages,  he  made 
incursions  upon  the  short-heads  of  the  Miami  and 
Scioto  valleys. 

We  place  him  far  beneath  the  mound-  and  embank 
ment-building  peoples  of  the  larger  streams  in  tribal 
organization,  in  skill  as  a  flint,  stone,  and  metal 
worker.  In  short,  we  assign  him  place  as  a  nomadic 
warrior. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

EXCAVATIONS    IN    AND    AROUND    FORT    ANCIENT. 

FORT  ANCIENT  being  the  centre  of  aboriginal  life 
in  the  Little  Miami  valley,  one  need  but  study  it  alone 
to  acquire  a  comprehension  of  the  lives  and  customs 
of  two  separate  races — named  according  to  the  shape 
of  the  skull — brachycephalic  and  dolicocephalic. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Moorehead's  first  view  of  this 
celebrated  fortification  in  1885,  he  was  strongly  im 
pressed  with  its  importance,  and  there  suggested 
itself  to  his  mind  to  make  a  thorough  and  exhaustive 

o 

study  of  everything  pertaining  to  the  earthwork. 
Previous  to  1889,  on  one  or  two  occasions  excava 
tions  were  attempted  with  the  aid  of  one  or  two 
parties  living  near  the  fort,  but  from  some  cause  or 
other  the  work  was  always  interrupted,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  bring  it  to  a  close  before  attaining  any 
valuable  results.  It  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1889 
that  an  opportunity  was  afforded  for  extended  and 
continuous  investigation.  The  results  of  that  work 
have  already  been  given  to  the  public,1  and  there  is 
no  necessity  of  repeating  any  description  of  the 

1  In  a  volume  entitled,  Fort  Ancient,  Ohio,  by  Warren  K.  Moore- 
head,  with  maps  and  illustrations.  Published  by  Robert  Clarke  &  Co., 
Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

80 


EXCAVATIONS  IN  AND  AROUND   FORT  ANCIENT.     8 1 

structure  as  a  whole,  or  to  give  the  details  of  the 
work  done  with  pick  and  shovel.  But  as  additional 
work  projected  in  1890  at  his  own  expense,  and 
four  months'  work  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1891 
in  the  interests  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi 
tion  *  resulted  in  new  discoveries,  and  in  adding  fur 
ther  testimony  in  support  of  the  conclusions  set 
forth  in  Fort  Ancient,  we  take  pleasure  in  sub 
mitting  the  following  chapter. 

When  we  consider  the  magnitude  of  the  walls  of 
Fort  Ancient,  the  immense  amount  of  labor  involved 
in  their  erection,  and  in  the  construction  of  the  miles 
of  terraces  connected  with  them,  we  realize  that  all 
this  required  a  long  period  of  time  or  a  large  num 
ber  of  workers  ;  perhaps,  when  we  bear  in  mind 
the  primitive  methods  of  the  builders,  we  are  even 
justified  in  believing  that  it  represents  the  prolonged 
and  continuous  industry  of  a  numerous  population. 
Taking  this  view  of  the  case,  it  is  a  surprising 
feature  to  note  that  so  few  mounds  occur  in  connec 
tion  with  this  great  earthwork,  and  that  even  such 
as  do  exist  are  of  insignificant  proportions.  Omitting 
a  few  small  elevations  which  have  been  plowed  over 
until  it  is  impossible  to  determine  whether  they  are 
natural  or  artificial,  and  which  have  never  disclosed 


1  When  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  of  field  assistant  for  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  Survey  in  1891,  Professor  Putnam  wrote  him  on 
March  iSth  of  that  year,  giving  instructions  for  the  work  to  be  carried  out 
at  Fort  Ancient,  viz.:  "  Taking  into  consideration  the  fact  that  the  Expo 
sition  will  have  the  benefit  of  your  former  work  at  this  place,  and  the  use 
of  such  plans  and  notes  as  you  already  have,  I  herewith  agree  that  all 
material  obtained  during  this  expedition  shall  be  at  your  service  for  study 
and  description." 


82  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

anything  that  would  throw  light  on  the  question, 
there  are  only  ten  mounds  in  sight  from  any  por 
tion  of  the  enclosure ;  all  these  except  one,1  which 
is  in  the  loop  or  curve  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
parallels,  at  the  farthest  extremity  of  the  fort,  were 
thoroughly  examined. 

The  builders  of  Fort  Ancient  atoned  for  the  small 
number  of  mounds  thrown  up  by  leaving  numerous 
village  sites,  richer  \\\  some  respects  than  the  more 
imposing  tumuli  of  the  Scioto  valley.  The  greatest 
village  site  in  extent,  the  one  from  which  such  a 
great  number  of  skeletons,  implements,  and  utensils 
used  for  domestic  purposes  were  exhumed  in  1889, 
occupies  the  broad  bottoms  fringing  the  south  side 
of  the  Little  Miami  River.  One  can  see  the  spot 
from  a  hundred  places  upon  the  towering  fort  walls 
above.  It  is  so  near  the  enclosure  that  but  three  or 
four  minutes  would  be  occupied  in  reaching  safety 
should  the  villagers  be  compelled  to  flee  at  the 
approach  of  an  enemy. 

One  mile  and  a  half  below  the  southern  extrem 
ity  of  Fort  Ancient  is  another  large  village  covering 
some  eight  or  ten  acres  rich  in  graves  and  debris. 
Two  miles  up  the  river  is  still  a  third,  so  large  that 
it  must  have  been  occupied  by  two  or  three  hundred 
lodges — while  at  the  mouth  of  Csesar  Creek,  six  miles 
distant  to  the  north,  are  two  extensive  sites,  one  in 
the  bottoms  and  the  other  upon  the  hills  to  the 
south.  All  of  these  save  one  were  carefully  ex 
plored  under  Professor  Putnam's  direction.  Fig. 
ix.  shows  one  of  the  Oregonia  skeletons. 


1  This  was  examined  in  April,  1891.      It  contained  nothing. 


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84  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

THE  VILLAGE  SITE. — For  a  number  of  years 
pieces  of  pottery,  broken  animal  bones,  flakes  of 
charcoal,  and  other  refuse  found  on  the  spots  occu 
pied  by  aboriginal  settlements,  have  been  discovered 
along  the  river  bank  just  above  the  station  of  Fort 
Ancient.  Occasionally  a  whole  pot,  or  a  portion  of 
a  human  skeleton,  was  discovered,  indicating  that 
burials  had  taken  place.  These  finds  are  usually 
made  after  a  period  of  high  water  has  caused  the 
banks  to  cave  in.  An  earthenware  vessel  thus  found 
is  shown  in  Fig.  xn.  A. 

The  field  containing  these  remains  is  usually 
planted  in  corn.  Permission  to  excavate  it  has 
always  been  refused  previous  to  the  time  of  our 
survey,  but  the  owner  had  become  so  interested  in 
our  work  on  the  hill  above  that  he  willingly  allowed 
pits  to  be  opened  wherever  we  wished. 

Availing  ourselves  of  this  privilege,  we  under 
took  a  series  of  explorations,  which  resulted  in 
unexpected  and  valuable  discoveries. 

The  ground  in  question  is  subject  to  overflow 
during  unusually  rainy  seasons,  and  consequently  is 
slowly  increasing  in  elevation  above  the  ordinary 
level  of  the  river.  This  condition  has  existed  for  an 
indefinite  period,  and  was  of  much  assistance  to  us 
in  determining  the  fact  that  considerable  time  had 
elapsed  between  different  periods  of  prehistoric 
occupation. 

For  a  depth  of  two  feet  below  the  surface  there 
was  no  appearance  of  anything  different  from  the 
ordinary  sandy  loam  characteristic  of  river  terraces. 
This  level  was  found  to  be  the  highest,  and  therefore 


EXCAVATIONS  IN  AND  AROUND   FORT  ANCIENT.     85 

the  latest,  of  three  villages  that  had  been  situated 
upon  the  bottom.  We  found  great  quantities  of 
burnt  stone,  ashes,  charcoal,  fragments  of  pottery, 
bones  of  animals  and  birds.  Implements  of  stone 
lay  scattered  about  and  were,  with  few  exceptions, 
broken  or  thrown  aside  in  the  waste  so  abundant  in 
such  places.  This  layer  had  a  thickness  of  about 
six  inches.  After  passing  through  it  we  found 
another  stratum  of  soil  not  less  than  a  foot  thick, 
and  in  some  places  as  much  as  eighteen  inches.  It 
did  not  contain  any  specimens  of  human  handiwork. 
At  a  depth  of  one  foot  below  the  first  layer  the 
level  of  the  second  village  site  was  discovered.  It 
had  been  occupied  for  a  longer  period  of  time  than 
the  other. 

A  few  inches  of  clean  earth  had  formed  between 
the  second  layer  and  the  debris  of  the  lowest  or 
oldest  site.  Its  highest  point  is  fully  five  and  a 
half  feet  below  the  present  surface.  The  depth  of 
this  layer  is  less  than  six  inches. 

The  greatest  depth  below  the  surface  at  which 
any  relic  was  found  in  the  three  village  sites  was 
six  and  a  half  feet.  The  specimen  was  a  small  highly 
polished  celt  of  green  stone. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  "  kitchen-middens  " 
extended  in  a  continuous,  unbroken  stratum  at  the 
various  levels.  In  some  of  the  pits  we  found  all 
three  strata,  in  others  either  one  or  two.  A  few 
places  were  entirely  without  layers  and  did  not  show 
any  traces  of  fire  from  the  surface  to  the  bottom  of 
the  pit.  Articles  of  aboriginal  manufacture  were 
also  absent. 


86  PRIMITIVE   MAN   IN  OHIO. 

Some  of  the  ash-beds  were  small — such  as  would 
result  from  a  single  camp-fire ;  others  contained 
several  bushels  of  ashes,  bones,  etc.,  and  covered  an 
area  of  fifty  or  sixty  square  feet.  In  several  places 
the  earth  was  burned  to  a  red  color  extending  to 
a  depth  of  five  or  six  inches,  while  a  pile  of  mate 
rial  to  one  side  of  it  indicated  that  the  spot  had 
been  used  for  a  considerable  time.  As  the  ashes 
accumulated  and  became  inconvenient  they  were 
scraped  away  and  the  fire  continued  on  the  same 
ground. 

The  remains  found  at  the  level  of  the  second 
village  site  far  exceeded  in  amount  those  from  both  of 
the  others.  There  is  no  essential  difference  between 
them  either  in  character  or  quality.  They  comprise 
ashes  and  charcoal,  and  several  bushels  of  broken  pot 
tery.  Among  the  pieces  are  some  which,  if  we  may 
judge  from  their  slight  curvature,  must  have  been  por 
tions  of  vessels  holding  five  or  six  gallons.  Many 
of  these  sherds  were  decorated  with  designs  varied 
in  character  and  quite  artistic.  (See  Figure  xn.) 
Quantities  of  bones  of  almost  every  species  of  ani 
mal,  bird,  or  fish  known  to  have  lived  in  this  region 
were  excavated ;  also  burnt  stones,  probably  used  in 
building  fire-places,  and  thousands  of  mussel  shells 
perforated  at  or  near  the  centre.  Among  other  arti 
cles  discovered  were  hammer  and  grinding  stones, 
broken  celts,  spear-  and  arrow-heads  and  knives  of 
flint,  bone  awls  and  needles,  some  pointed  at  both 
ends,  and  tibiae  of  deer  with  the  shaft  worked  to 
give  a  sharp  edge  on  each  side,  making  an  imple 
ment  like  that  now  in  use  among  the  southwestern 


EXCAVATIONS  IN  AND  AROUND  FORT  ANCIENT.      8/ 

Indians  for  removing  the  hair  from  hides  in  pre 
paring  leather  or  buckskin.  Deer  antlers,  some  of 
which  showed  marks  of  use  as  perforators  or  polish 
ers,  were  collected,  and  a  few  slate  gorgets,  together 
with  some  beautiful  perforated  shell  disks  of  a  small 
size. 

Ashes  have  a  remarkable  preservative  quality. 
The  small  soft  bones  of  fishes  which  were  found  in 
it  were  as  perfect  as  if  they  had  been  buried  but  a 
day.  In  one  pit  we  discovered  a  large  mussel  shell 
heaped  full  of  fish  scales,  and  in  another  the  leg-bone 
of  a  very  large  turkey,  with  the  sinews  in  their  proper 
positions  alongside.  Objects  so  easily  destroyed 
would  soon  disappear  in  ordinary  earth. 

The  general  character  of  the  objects  found  may  be 
seen  by  referring  to  Figures  xn.,  XIIA.,  xni.,  xiv. 

No  whole  pottery  was  found  nor  was  there  evi 
dence  of  a  hut  or  shelter  of  any  kind,  except  in  one 
place,  at  the  level  of  the  upper  or  most  recent  vil 
lage.  Even  this,  so  far  as  we  could  make  out,  was 
nothing  more  than  what  loggers  call  a  "  shack  "• 
that  is,  a  shelter  formed  by  setting  up  a  single  row 
of  posts,  varying  in  number  according  to  the  space 
required.  A  pole  or  small  log  is  run  across  the  top, 
and  then  saplings  placed  close  together  with  one  end 
on  the  log  and  the  other  on  the  ground.  The  whole 
structure  is  then  covered  with  bark  or  brush.  We 
found  the  remains  of  five  or  six  posts,  each  about 
eight  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  mass  of  charred 
wood  extending  between  them.  In  a  few  places, 
reaching  out  to  one  side,  were  small  pieces  of  char 
coal  such  as  would  result  from  burning  small  poles. 


88  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

It  is  obvious  then,  that  at  three  different  periods 
in  the  past,  separated  from  one  another  by  consider 
able  intervals,  this  bottom  was  a  place  of  resort  for 
the  aboriginal  hunters  and  fishermen  of  the  Little 
Miami  valley.  But  whether  they  came  to  spend 
the  summer  only,  or  whether  the  villages  were  per 
manent  places  of  abode  will  never  be  known.  On 
one  hand  is  the  great  amount  of  refuse  accumulated  ; 
but  on  the  other  is  the  fact  that  the  ground  is 
subject  to  an  occasional  overflow.  At  any  rate,  the 
intervening  strata  of  earth  containing  no  evidence  of 
human  residence,  would  show  that,  whichever  view 
of  the  matter  we  take,  occupation  of  the  site  was 
not  continuous. 

During  the  excavations  at  this  point  we  unearthed 
three  skeletons  some  rods  back  from  the  river.  The 
first  was  that  of  an  adult  of  small  size,  not  more 
than  five  feet  six  inches  long.  This  burial  is  notice 
able  for  its  peculiarity.  The  earth  had  been  removed 
for  a  depth  of  two  feet,  and  in  the  bottom  of  the 
space  a  hole  had  been  dug  large  enough  to  contain 
the  body.  At  each  end  of  this  hole  a  rectangular 
limestone  slab  had  been  placed  to  serve  as  head  and 
foot  stones.  The  body  had  then  been  deposited  and 
four  large  flat  limestones  placed  across  with  their 
ends  resting  on  the  earth  at  either  side  so  they  would 
not  touch  the  body.  The  soil  had  then  been  thrown 
over  the  structure.  The  bones  were  well  preserved, 
but  no  relics  of  any  sort  were  found  in  the  grave. 

Within  three  feet  of  the  end  of  the  grave  just 
referred  to  was  one  containing  the  remains  of  a  child. 
It  was  similar  in  construction  to  the  first,  except 


90  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

that  the  headstone  was  omitted,  and  only  two  stones 
placed  over  it.  These  weighed  at  least  seventy-five 
pounds  each.  Near  the  head  was  placed  a  triangu 
lar  arrow-point  of  chalcedony,  two  small  shell  pen 
dants,  each  with  one  perforation,  and  a  couple  of  well 
finished  circular  shell  disks,  one  inch  and  a  half  in 
diameter,  with  two  perforations.  Two  were  similar 
to  the  others  in  shape  but  had  three  perforations. 
This  skeleton  was  extremely  small.  The  femur 
measured  from  its  head  to  the  lower  end  of  the 
tibia,  as  the  bones  lay  in  their  proper  position,  only 
seven  inches,  while  the  clavicle  was  one  and  seven- 
eighth  inches  long.  The  bones  of  the  skull  were  no 
thicker  than  a  piece  of  ordinary  blotting-paper.  A 
small  quantity  of  very  fine  soft  black  earth  was 
with  the  bones — possibly  the  remains  of  the  gar 
ments  in  which  it  had  been  clad.  We  can  account 
for  the  unusual  preservation  of  the  bones  only  by 
the  fact  that  they  lay  in  very  sandy  soil,  and  the 
large  rocks  placed  over  them  prevented  any  water 
from  percolating  down  to  them  from  above. 

The  third  grave,  about  twenty-five  feet  from  the 
other,  was  also  that  of  a  child,  but  somewhat  older 
than  the  last.  The  method  of  burial  was  the  same, 
except  that  five  stones,  none  of  them  large,  were 
placed  above  the  body.  By  the  head  lay  several 
shell  beads.  No  other  relics  were  with  it. 

In  Figure  xi.  is  shown  a  femur  of  the  second  child. 
The  other  bones  were  excavated  from  the  smaller 
grave.  Figure  x.  shows  some  of  the  objects  found 
with  them. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GRAVES    OF    THE    VILLAGE    SITE. 

WE  are  forced  to  admit  that  in  1889  our  excava 
tions  at  the  village  site,  just  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter,  were  not  as  complete  as  those  of  1891.  We 
did  not  have  the  opportunity  for  thorough  investi 
gation  of  the  village  sites  such  as  we  desired  to 
make,  consequently  we  had  not  discovered  graves  in 
groups.  In  April  and  May,  1891,  long  trenches 
were  dug  traversing  the  area  in  every  direction. 
Three  groups  of  graves,  ranging  from  seven  in  the 
smaller  to  seventeen  in  the  larger,  were  laid  bare 
and  photographed.  They  were  found  at  an  average 
depth  of  two  feet,  and  the  following  illustrations 
truthfully  portray  their  appearance.  Nearly  all  of 
the  interments  extended  east  and  west,  but  a  few 
were  obviously  headed  north  and  south. 

The  smaller  group  presents  no  peculiarities  what 
ever  from  the  others,  and  need  not  here  be  described. 
Near  the  smaller  group,  distant  five  or  six  hundred 
feet  from  that  farther  down  the  stream  (known  as 
the  "Lower  Village  Site"),  were  sixteen  graves, 
which  we  have  designated  u  Upper  Village  Site 
Burials."  As  will  be  seen  by  Illustrations  vn.  and 
viii.,  the  interments  were  somewhat  different  from 

92 


93 


94  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

those  in  the  large  cemetery  at  the  southern  portion 
of  Fort  Ancient,  to  be  described  later.  After  the 
excavation  of  the  grave  had  been  made  by  the 
friends  of  the  deceased,  stones  were  set  upon  edge 
one  foot  apart  on  each  side,  at  the  head  and  the 
feet.  The  slabs  selected  for  such  purposes  were 
long,  narrow,  and  not  more  than  twenty-four  to 
thirty  inches  in  length,  by  eight  or  ten  inches  in 
width.  About  eight  or  ten  were  sufficient  to  up 
hold  the  layer  of  larger  slabs  placed  above.  The 
stones  were  stuck  in  the  ground  to  a  depth  of  five 
or  six  inches,  and  firmly  imbedded  in  the  hard  river 
sand.  When  we  uncovered  them  they  still  retained 
their  upright  position. 

In  the  lower  village  site  nearly  all  the  graves 
were  hollow,  only  a  little  earth  having  filtered  in 
between  the  crevices.  In  the  construction  of  the 
hollow  tombs  larger  slabs  were  employed  than  those 
used  at  the  upper  village  site.  Some  of  the  slabs 
measured  three  or  four  feet  across,  weighing  one 
hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  pounds.  At  nei 
ther  the  upper  nor  lower  sites  were  stone  floors 
in  the  graves. 

In  Tennessee  many  stone  graves  are  found  of  a 
more  sepulchre-like  form  than  those  of  the  Miami 
valley.  Gren.  Gates  P.  Thruston,  in  his  excellent 
work  recently  published,  entitled,  Antiquities  of 
Tennessee  (pages  28  to  32),  describes  the  graves  of 
Duck  Creek,  S.  Drake  Creek,  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
Nashville.  They  are  strangely  like  the  Fort  An 
cient  graves,  with  the  exception  of  the  stone  floors 
above  mentioned. 


GRAVES  OF   THE    VILLAGE   SITE.  95 

General  Thruston  says : 

"The  rude  cists,  or  box-shaped  coffins,  are  made  of 
thin  slabs  of  stone.  Sometimes  the  stones  are  broken  or 
cut,  or  rubbed  down  so  as  to  fit  evenly  and  form  a  well 
shaped  case,  but  more  frequently  they  are  rudely  joined 
together.  Occasionally  they  are  found  in  mounds  or 
layers,  four  or  five  tiers  of  graves  deep.  The  graves  are 
usually  six  or  seven  feet  long,  a  foot  and  a  half  to  two 
feet  wide,  and  eighteen  inches  deep ;  but  graves  of 
greatly  varying  sizes  and  shapes  are  found  intermingled 
with  those  of  more  regular  form.  The  children's  graves 
are  proportionately  smaller.  Frequently  the  same  cist  con 
tains  two  or  three  skeletons,  and  is  not  more  than  three 
or  four  feet  long,  the  bones  having  been  placed  in  a  pile 
irregularly  within  it,  indicating  that  they  were  probably 
interred  long  after  death,  and  after  some  intermediate 
preparation  or  ceremonies  similar  to  the  burial  customs 
of  some  of  the  historic  tribes. 

"  Many  of  the  graves  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville  are 
lined  with  large,  thick  fragments  of  broken  pottery,  as 
neatly  joined  together  as  if  moulded  for  the  purpose.  The 
author  recently  excavated  several  graves  of  this  kind  on 
Hon.  W.  F.  Cooper's  farm,  near  Nashville.  The  pottery 
burial  cases  were  symmetrically  formed,  and  seemed  to 
be  moulded  in  single  pieces,  until  an  attempt  was  made 
to  raise  them,  when  they  fell  apart,  and  were  found  to  be 
composed  of  neatly  joined  fragments  of  large  vessels ; 
the  heavy  rims  of  the  vessels,  more  than  an  inch  and 
a  half  thick,  having  been  used  as  rims  or  borders  for  the 
burial  cases. 

"  Nearly  all  the  stone  graves  are  found  to  be  filled  with 
earth  inside,  by  infiltration.  The  roots  of  trees  have  pene 
trated  them.  The  very  skulls  are  usually  packed  solid  with 
earth,  but  now  and  then  the  iron  pick  will  strike  a  hollow 
cist  in  its  original  state,  and  the  fortunate  explorer  may 
be  rewarded  by  finding  a  vessel  or  bowl  of  clay,  perhaps 


96  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

two  or  three,  within  easy  grasp,  beside  the  still  uncov 
ered  skeleton,  and  he  will  thus  secure  a  better  oppor 
tunity  of  observing  at  his  leisure  all  the  interesting 
details  of  the  burial. 

"  Sometimes  a  little  cluster  of  stone  graves  is  found, 
with  the  usual  accompaniments  of  pottery  and  rude  orna 
ments,  like  many  modern  plantation  burial-places,  contain 
ing  the  remains  of  a  single  family,  or  group  of  families, 
that  doubtless  lived  an  agricultural  life  in  its  own  farm 
dwellings.  The  remains  sometimes  found  in  these  small 
isolated  burial-grounds  show  that  some  of  these  villagers 
or  country  people  must  have  been  supplied  with  many 
of  the  domestic  conveniences  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  larger  towns." 

The  burials  in  both  upper  and  lower  village  sites 
were  about  equally  divided  as  to  adults  and  children, 
save  in  one  or  two  instances.  No  objects  were  buried 
with  the  adults,  but  near  the  children  were  bead 
necklaces,  small  shell  ornaments,  and  shell  toys. 
Frequently  a  child  would  be  placed  alongside  an 
adult  woman,  probably  its  mother.  Occasionally 
the  short  grave  of  the  child,  but  three  or  four  feet  in 
length,  rested  directly  upon  the  long  hollow  vault  in 
which  lay  the  mother.  But  one  or  two  male  skele 
tons  were'  found  in  the  group  of  graves  and  those 
were  young  persons,  not  over  eighteen  or  twenty 
years  of  age. 

The  lower  burial  site  when  uncovered  presented  a 
very  singular  appearance.  We  had  excavated  a  great 
hole  one  hundred  feet  in  length  and  forty  feet  in 
width  to  a  depth  of  four  feet,  or  until  we  struck 
hard  river  sand.  Above  this  floor  stood  the  graves 
from  one  to  eighteen  inches  high.  See  Illustration 


GRAVES  OF    THE    VILLAGE   SITE.  g? 

viii.  Many  of  them  were  roughly  hollowed  out 
and  had  partially  filled  with  earth,  because  the 
stones  across  the  top  were  broken  by  horses  or  other 
weighty  animals  passing  over  them  in  the  field.1 
The  illustration  shows  some  of  the  stones  sloping 
toward  the  centre  of  the  grave,  thus  permitting  the 
water  and  earth  to  penetrate  to  the  cavity  beneath. 


FIG.  XIIA. — Whole  pot  of  clay.      Lower  village  site,  Fort  Ancient. 
See  page  101. 

Upon  a  given  day  the  sixteen  graves  comprising 
the  lower  group  were  opened  in  the  presence  of 
eleven  hundred  people.  In  those  graves  which  \vere 
covered  by  perfect  stones  the  skeletons  remained 
wrell  preserved.  Out  of  thirty-seven  graves  in  the 
three  groups  we  secured  twenty-five  crania  entire. 

1  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that   the  tops  of  the  graves  were  sometimes 
within  twenty  inches  of  the  surface. — W.  K.  M. 
7 


98  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  any  one  to  say  how 
great  a  period  of  time  had  elapsed  since  the  inter 
ments  had  occurred.  It  may  be  readily  granted  from 
the  following  reasons  that  the  graves  were  construc 
ted  in  pre-Columbian  times.  First,  two  previous 
periods  of  occupation  have  been  shown  to  have  ex 
isted  upon  the  site  since  the  burials.  Second,  in  the 
debris  of  both  villages  no  glass  beads,  or  implements 
of  iron  were  ever  discovered.  It  is  a  well  known 
fact  that  the  Shawnees,  who  inhabited  the  Miami 
valley  at  the  time  of  its  settlement  by  the  whites, 
adopted  their  superior  weapons  more  rapidly  than 
any  other  tribe  known  to  history.  Had  they  occu 
pied  the  village  site,  which  we  have  just  described, 
they  would  have  left  evidences  of  their  association 
with  the  whites.  The  two  villages  then  were  in  ex 
istence  before  the  advent  of  the  French  or  English 
traders  among  the  savages.  How  long  prior  we  can 
not  say.  The  burials  were  made  sufficiently  early 
for  a  deposit  of  six  or  eight  inches  of  river  sand  to 
have  accumulated  above  them. 

In  1812,  when  Mr.  John  Hughes,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  came  to  Ohio,  the  village  site  was  covered 
with  the  heaviest  of  sycamore,  elm,  and  walnut 
timber.  Mr.  Hughes  is  still  living  in  the  valley. 
He  assured  us  of  the  great  size  and  age  of  the 
timber  growing  above  the  graves  in  the  early  part 
of  this  century.  We  give  the  testimony  for  what 
it  is  worth,  and,  while  acknowledging  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  average  forest  tree  when  located  near 
a  stream,  we  do  not  believe  that  such  a  heavy 
growth  of  forest  as  he  describes  could  have  sprung 


99 


loo 


PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 


up  in  less  than  one  or  two  centuries.1     The   very 
character  of  the  graves  and  the  skeletons  is  evidence, 

O 

to  our  minds,  of  their  great  antiquity. 


FIG.  xiv.     Bone  awls  and  scrapers,  from  ash-pits,  Fort  Ancient. 
page  87. 


See 


Gen.  G.  P.  Thrustou,  in  his  work,  Antiquities  of 
Tennessee  (  page  1  ),  makes  the  statement  (  referring 

1  I  am  informed  by  Dr.  II.  T.  Cresson  that  while  he  was  attached  to 
the  Peabody  Museum,  Harvard  University,  as  an  assistant  in  the  field, 
Professor  Putnam  showed  him  a  letter  written  by  the  late  Asa  Gray,  which 
stated  that  the  growth  of  trees  in  the  United  States  might  be  estimated  by 
the  so-called  ring  marks.  Five  centuries  can  be  attributed  to  Fort  Ancient, 
counted  upon  trees  cut  down  during  the  excavations. — W.  K.  M. 


GRAVES   OF   THE    VILLAGE   SITE.  IOI 

to  stone  graves):  "A  hundred  or  more  of  these 
rude  sarcophagi  are  occasionally  found  deposited  in 
several  tiers,  or  layers,  in  a  single  burial  mound." 

This  statement  is  borne  out  in  the  Ohio  valley  by 
our  own  investigations,  as  well  as  those  of  others. 
While  not  at  liberty  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  work 
done  by  the  World's  Fair  at  Oregonia,  Ohio,  a  few 
general  remarks  will  be  permitted  regarding  a  mound 
of  unusual  character.  Caesar's  Creek,  a  tributary  of 
the  Little  Miami  River,  is  noted  for  the  large  num 
ber  of  mounds  existing  near  its  banks.  No  archae- 

o 

ological  work  was  ever  carried  on  in  Caesar's  Creek 
valley  prior  to  1891.  Hence,  the  field  was  un 
usually  rich.  Upon  the  heights  overlooking  the 
creek  and  the  Miami  River  to  the  south  is  a  large 
village  site,  covering  sixty  or  seventy  acres  of 
ground.  In  the  bottoms  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  below  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  is  another  large 
village  site,  while  just  above  the  delta  is  still  a 
third,  and  smaller  one.  At  the  edge  of  the  village 
upon  the  hill  is  a  gravel  knoll,  from  which  we 
exhumed  ten  skeletons,  two  whole  pots,  etc.  As  is 
always  the  case  when  interments  are  made  in  gravel 
or  sand,  the  bones  were  remarkably  well  preserved. 
Just  back  of  the  gravel  pit  is  a  mound  eight  feet  in 
altitude  and  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  in  length. 
In  the  mound  were  seventy-nine  skeletons,  twenty 
of  which  were  enclosed  in  stone  cists,  such  as  we 
find  at  Fort  Ancient.  Two  of  the  vaults  were 
hollow,  the  others  being  filled  with  loose  earth 
which  had  settled  in  through  the  crevices.  In 
many  places  in  the  mound  there  were  three  or  four 


IO2  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

layers  of  graves,  one  on  top  of  eacli  other.  The 
skeletons  resting  upon  the  base  line  were  not  incased 
in  stones.  Upon  the  extreme  southern  edge  of  the 
mound  were  five  graves  in  a  row,  all  heading  the 
same  way,  and  some  of  them  containing  two  or  three 
skeletons  each.  A  flint  dagger  (see  illustration  No. 
XLIII.)  made  of  chert,  double-pointed,  and  fourteen  and 
one  eighth  inches  in  length,  lay  by  the  right  femur 
of  one  of  the  largest  skeletons  buried  in  the  tumulus. 
This  skeleton  lay  upon  the  base  line,  and  seemed  to 
be  the  most  distinguished  person  of  the  seventy- 
nine.  By  the  side  of  one  of  his  neighbors  were  a 
pair  of  antelope  horns.  This  is  exceedingly  inter 
esting,  as  we  have  no  historical  record  of  the  pres 
ence  of  antelope  in  the  Ohio  valley,  although  we  do 
know  that  both  elk  and  bison  were  here.  The 
horns  have  been  either  transported  from  the  west, 
through  traffic  with  other  tribes,  or  the  burial  was 
made  at  a  greater  period  of  antiquity  than  we  would 
assign  it. 

In  Figure  ix.  we  show  one  of  the  best-preserved 
skeletons  in  Mr.  Taylor's  mound. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  note  the  varied  methods 
of  burial  of  these  seventy-nine  skeletons.  Some  lay 
extended,  others  with  knees  drawn  up  against  the 
sternum,  and  others  lay  upon  their  sides.  The 
people  making  the  interment  frequently  placed  the 
head  and  trunk  of  the  person  in  the  mound,  or 
would  inter  the  legs,  pelvis,  and  lower  portion  of 
the  spinal  column.  Early  French  and  Spanish 
writers  mention  tribes  who  kept  the  bones  of  their 
dead  in  little  buildings  until  a  sufficiently  large 


IOJ 


104  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

number  had  accumulated,  when  they  would  make 
yearly  interments.  The  presence  of  fragmentary 
skeletons  may  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for  by 
taking  this  into  consideration. 

The  term  "  Old  Fort,"  used  in  a  book  recently  pub 
lished  upon  Fort  Ancient,  referring  to  the  southern 
portion  of  the  fortification,  is  apt  to  mislead  the 
reader,  therefore,  in  this  volume,  that  portion  of  the 
structure  will  be  called  South  Fort.1 

Near  the  western  portion  of  the  South  Fort  is  a 
knoll  of  regular  outline  with  gentle  slopes  leading 
to  every  side,  whose  summit  is  the  highest  point 
within  its  walls.  Here  is  an  aboriginal  cemetery. 
Three  hundred  graves  have  been  opened  by  different 
parties,  and  old  settlers  tell  us  that  not  less  than  one 
thousand  wagon-loads  of  stones  have  been  plowed  up 
and  hauled  away.  These  graves  were  similar  to  those 
in  the  bottoms  of  the  Little  Miami  River,  not  so 
carefully  constructed ;  smaller  limestone  slabs  having 
been  used  as  sides,  ends,  and  coverings  of  the  bodies. 
The  soil  here  is  very  different  from  that  in  the  val 
ley,  being  a  tough  yellow  clay,  with  little  or  no 
sand  or  gravel.  The  graves  are  always  filled  with 
earth  and  never  hollow.  Sometimes  there  are  two 
layers  of  stones  with  six  inches  of  intervening  soil 
between  them  and  the  skeleton.  Occasionally  the 
body  was  crowded  into  a  small  hole  without  any 
side  stones  whatever,  just  four  or  five  irregular  slabs 
having  been  thrown  across  the  narrow,  shallow 
grave. 

In  1889  our  survey  examined  upwards   of  thirty 

1  See  map,  page  20,  Fort  Ancient,  W.  K.  Moorehead,  1890,  Cincinnati. 


GRAVES  OF    THE    VILLAGE   SITE.  1 05 

of  these,  and  in  1891  we  opened  twenty-five  for 
Dept.  M.  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

Although  the  South  Fort  cemetery  is  one  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  groups  near  the  river,  the 
burials  are  most  identical ;  the  crania  present  the 
same  brachycephalic  type,  and  we  are  therefore  in 
clined  to  the  opinion  that  they  were  constructed  by 
the  same  people.  The  South  Fort  graves  may  be 
somewhat  ruder,  yet  in  spite  of  their  slight  inferi 
ority  they  present  many  striking  features  in  com 
mon.  The  skeletons  in  the  hill-top  graves  are 
generally  badly  decayed  on  account  of  having  been 
interred  in  the  soil,  which  in  spite  of  its  hardness 
allowed  the  water  to  penetrate  to  a  depth  of  about 
eighteen  inches.  At  this  depth  there  is  a  stratum 
of  bluish  glacial  clay,  which  is  so  impenetrable  that 
the  water  lies  above  it,  forming  a  sticky  mire.  Under 
such  conditions  the  decay  of  human  bones  was  in 
evitable.  Figure  xv.  shows  some  of  the  objects 
from  South  Fort  graves. 

All  the  graves  explored  by  us  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Ancient  contained  crania  of  the  brachycephalic 
type.  The  graves  of  Tennessee,  described  by  both 
Professor  Putnam  and  General  Thruston  contain 
graves  of  the  same  people.  These  burials  cannot  be 
assigned,  by  any  careful  investigator,  to  the  Shawnee 
Indians,  either  in  Ohio  or  Tennessee.  There  are 
hundreds  of  stone  heaps  in  the  Ohio  valley  that 
cover  the  remains  of  Indians  who  fell  in  wars  with 
the  whites  and  among  themselves  in  historic  times. 
Such  interments  have  unfortunately  been  classified 
with  those  of  the  stone  grave  people  of  far  greater 


IO6  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

antiquity.  We  have  never  heard  that  objects  of 
iron,  glass,  terra-cotta,  or  modern  implements  were 
found  in  any  of  these  hollow  or  earth-filled  stone 
graves.  We  are  aware  that  modern  implements  and 
various  utensils  are  frequently  found  in  stone  heaps 
near  the  many  trails  which  penetrated  different  parts 
of  the  State.  We  are  also  cognizant  of  the  fact  that 
these  arms  and  objects  have  been  discovered  in  the 
summits  of  mounds,  the  result  of  burials  by  recent 
Indian  tribes.  At  Oregonia,  in  the  northern  part  of 
Warren  County,  we  opened  a  large  cemetery  and 
village  site  more  recent  than  those  at  Fort  Ancient, 
but  did  not,  even  in  its  graves,  or  upon  the  surface, 
find  a  single  trace  of  contact  with  the  civilization  of 
the  white  man.  The  very  character  of  the  graves 
themselves,  their  decayed  condition,  the  rude  and 
primitive  implements  found  within  their  walls,  to 
gether  with  forest  giants  towering  above,  all  com 
bine  to  establish  our  assertion  concerning  the  great 
age  of  these  burials.  When  we  state  the  proba 
bility  that  the  skeletons  are  those  of  some  of  the 
primitive  people  whose  hands  aided  in  the  erection 
of  the  towering  walls  of  Fort  Ancient,  we  make  no 
hasty  assertion,  but  simply  give  our  long  and  care 
fully  considered  opinion,  which  is  based  upon  exten 
sive  explorations. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EXPLORATIONS    IN    CLINTON    COUNTY. 

IN  Clinton  County,  in  the  valleys  of  Cowen's 
Creek  and  Todd's  Fork,  are  many  small  mounds. 
No  villages  of  great  size  are  found,  but  a  few  of 
limited  extent  exist  upon  the  streams  named. 

Mr.  Richardson,  a  resident  of  Wilmington  who 
has  made  the  mounds  the  subject  of  intelligent  study, 
has  excavated  extensively  in  this  region.  He  in 
formed  us  concerning  the  skeletons  and  implements 
found  during  his  investigations,  and  his  remarks, 
together  with  the  facts  ascertained  by  our  own  ob 
servation  of  seven  of  the  tumuli,  lead  us  to  assign 
the  works  to  Muskingum  valley  people. 

Before  considering  Mr.  Richardson's  observations 
in  detail  we  will  give  a  resume  of  the  seven  mounds 
opened.  The  explorations  of  these  mounds  were  made 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Myer  of  Car 
thage,  Tennessee,  Mr.  Moorehead  being  present  only 
a  portion  of  the  time. 

MOUND  NUMBER  SEVENTY-SEVEN.  -  -  This  was 
opened  May  28,  1890.  The  structure  is  thirty  feet 
in  diameter  and  two  and  a  half  feet  in  altitude.  It 
is  upon  the  farm  of  Simeon  Cass  near  the  Midland 
Railway,  three  miles  southwest  of  Wilmington. 

107 


108  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

Scattered  through  the  upper  part  of  the  structure 
were  many  pieces  of  flint  broken  and  partially 
worked.  They  were  of  a  grayish- white  color.  The 
earth  forming  the  structure  had  been  scooped  from 
the  surface  of  some  village  site,  hence  the  presence  of 
flint  flakes  and  blocks.  One  small  spear-head  of  pink 
and  white  quartz  was  taken  from  a  small  ash-pit 
midway  between  the  summit  and  the  base.  Im 
plements  of  such  material  are  rare  in  southern  Ohio. 

Near  the  exact  centre  of  the  mound,  about 
eighteen  inches  from  the  surface,  was  found  a  small 
tablet,  five  by  four  and  a  quarter  by  three  fourths  of 
an  inch,  composed  of  sandstone.  This  remarkable 
object  was  taken  from  a  mass  of  sticky,  yellow  clay, 
its  position  being  carefully  noted  by  the  six  per 
sons  present.  Upon  two  sides  were  three  grooves  of 
the  same  depth,  similar  to  those  upon  the  back  of 
the  famous  "  Guest  Tablet "  found  in  a  mound  upon 
the  site  of  Cincinnati  during  the  early  part  of  this 
century.  Along  both  the  narrow  edges  were  two 
shallow  grooves,  while  on  the  ends  were  two  short 
but  deep  grooves.  The  depth  of  the  various 
grooves  range  from  one  sixteenth  of  an  inch  to  one 
third  of  an  inch.  The  tablet  has  the  appearance  of 
serving  the  purpose  as  a  sharpener  of  bone  or 
copper  tools. 

The  mound  is  presumed  to  be  a  house  site,  as 
posts  extended  into  the  structure  to  a  depth  of  three 
feet  and  formed  a  square  twelve  feet  on  each  side. 
The  posts  were  burned  and  charred  so  that  little 
remained  of  them.  Near  the  tablet  were  two 
pockets  of  charcoal  and  also  a  large  limestone,  four- 


EXPLORATIONS  IN  CLINTON  COUNTY.  1 09 

teen  by  sixteen  inches,  polished  upon  one  side.  The 
latter  may  have  been  used  for  grinding  corn,  as 
scratches  seen  upon  its  surface  are  rotary  in  char 
acter  and  may  have  been  made  by  a  stone  pestle. 

MOUND  NUMBER  SEVENTY-EIGHT. — It  lies  upon 
the  same  farm  as  Number  Seventy-seven  but  is 
placed  upon  the  second  terrace,  distant  three  or  four 
hundred  yards  from  Cowen's  Creek.  Its  dimensions 
were  eighty  by  forty  by  seven  feet.  We  trenched 
through  the  greatest  diameter,  making  our  excava 
tion  thirty  feet  in  width  and  fifty  feet  long.  The 
mound  contained  many  burnt  patches  of  earth  and 
numerous  pottery  fragments,  but  no  human  remains 
except  that  of  a  child  seven  or  eight  years  old  were 
discovered.  The  skeleton  was  unaccompanied  by 
ornaments  or  implements. 

Mounds  Numbers  Seventy-nine  and  Eighty,  lo 
cated  near  Todd's  Fork,  six  miles  southwest  of 
Wilmington,  contained  nothing  but  fragmentary 
skeletons.  Both  structures  were  small. 

MOUND  NUMBER  EIGHTY-ONE. — This  tumulus  is 
two  miles  northwest  of  Wilmington  on  the  Clarkes- 
ville  Pike.  It  was  examined  June  6th.  The  own 
er's  name  we  have  unfortunately  forgotten.  The 
dimensions  are  fifty-seven  by  forty-five  by  five  feet. 
Like  the  mounds  in  the  Hopewell  group *  the  sur 
face  had  been  burnt  hard,  the  skeletons  placed  upon 
the  level  thus  obtained,  and  the  structure  heaped 
above.  Near  the  centre  of  the  mound  were  three 
skulls  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation,  and  the  ashes 
and  charred  bits  of  other  portions  of  the  bodies. 

1  See  Chapter  xn. 


1 10  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 


Just  beyond  the  skulls  was  a  beautiful  diamond- 
shaped  ceremonial  stone  of  banded  slate.  It  was  an 
inch  and  three  quarters  wide  in  the  centre,  one  third 
of  an  inch  in  width  at  the  rounded  ends,  and  six 
inches  in  length.  As  is  usual  with  ornaments  and 
emblematic  stones,  it  was  highly  polished.  A  fine 
black  arrow-head,  unfinished  and  broken  arrow 
heads,  and  a  small  diorite  celt  were  near  the  slate 
object.  All  of  the  skulls  headed  toward  the  west 
and  were  surrounded  by  masses  of  charcoal. 

MOUND  NUMBER  EIGHTY-TWO. — This  structure  is 
seven  miles  from  Wilmington,  on  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Austin,  and  is  situated  upon  a  bluff  seventy-five 
feet  above  the  waters  of  Cowen's  Creek.  The  creek 
has  cut  under  the  high  bank  to  some  extent,  and 
about  ten  feet  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  mound 
has  already  fallen  into  the  depths  below.  It  is  cir 
cular,  having  a  diameter  of  one  hundred  and  ten  feet 
and  a  height  of  twenty-three  feet.  On  account  of  its 
great  size,  teams  and  scrapers  were  employed.  Three 
feet  from  the  surface,  near  the  centre,  we  came  upon 
a  well  preserved  skeleton.  Copper  bands,  about  one 
fourth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  surrounded  the  ankles, 
but  nothing  else,  except  two  large  arrow-heads,  were 
with  the  remains.  We  have  in  mind  at  the  present 
writing  no  instance  of  mound  exploration  where  a 
skeleton  has  been  found  with  copper  anklets.  Cop 
per  on  or  near  other  portions  of  the  body  is  a 
frequent  occurrence. 

We  had  excavated  but  five  feet  when  a  misun 
derstanding  caused  the  work  to  be  brought  to  a 
sudden  close.  Undoubtedly  this  mound  contains 


EXPLORATIONS  IN  CLINTON  COUNTY.  Ill 

much  of  interest,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  some 
one  will  complete  our  examination  in  the  near 
future. 

Mr.  Richardson  has  whole  pottery  from  the 
mounds  of  his  neighborhood,  ornaments  and  cere 
monials  of  slate,  celts,  flint  implements,  and  a  few 
copper  hatchets  and  beads.  He  has  found  no  evi 
dences  of  extensive  working  in  bone  or  shell.  We 
do  not  remember  of  his  finding  mica  or  galena.  No 
large  ocean  shells,  no  altars,  no  caches  of  flint  im 
plements,  and  but  few  pipes  have  ever  been  taken 
from  the  mounds  of  Clinton  County.  The  crania 
are  dolicocephalic.  In  other  sections,  where  brachy- 
cephalic  crania  are  exhumed,  we  find  objects  similar 
to  those  named  above.  This  will  be  seen  by  refer 
ence  to  Chapters  ix.,  x.,  XL,  and  xn.  The  Clinton 
County  skulls  being  of  the  long-head  type,  we  find 
implements  such  as  that  race  employed.  From  the 
mound  testimony  we  conclude  that  no  short-heads 
lived  in  Clinton  County. 

The  whole  pottery  that  has  been  exhumed  by  Mr. 
Richardson  is  very  much  like  the  pottery  of  the 
mounds  in  Brown  and  Clermont  counties.1  Neither 
the  mounds  nor  the  implements  of  Clinton  County 
evince  the  skill  exhibited  in  those  of  Ross  or  War 
ren  counties ;  yet  we  would  class  their  builders 
above  the  small  tribes  inhabiting  the  hilly  regions 
and  the  swamp  regions  of  Brown  County.  Probably 
the  smaller  long-head  tribes  combined  with  the 
people  of  Co  wen's  Creek  and  Todd's  Fork  to  invade 
the  Miami  and  Scioto  valleys.  The  evidence  that  no 

1  See  Chapter  vi. 


112  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

short-head  skulls  have  been  taken  from  the  many 
mounds  of  Clinton  County  is  certainly  contrary  to 
the  general  belief  that  this  tribe  was  a  part  of  either 
the  Miami  or  Scioto  valley  peoples.  They  would  be 
quite  secure  from  their  enemies  amongst  the  hills  of 
Clinton  and  Clermont  counties.  The  presence  of  a 
few  dolicocephali  in  the  Miami  and  Scioto  valleys 
would  indicate  that  some  of  these  people,  when 
upon  incursions  into  the  territory  of  their  enemies, 
remained.  They  may  have  been  held  as  captives,  or 
the  braver  ones  who  fell  in  battle  may  have  been 
interred  by  the  short-heads  as  a  special  mark  of  ap 
preciation  of  their  bravery. 

While  the  matter  set  forth  is  offered  largely  as  a 
suggestion,  we  think  Clinton  and  Clermont  counties 
to  have  been  the  home  of  a  portion  of  the  tribe  of 
long-heads.  We  find  no  trace  of  the  short-heads  en 
tering  their  territory,  but  we  do  find  many  long-head 
skulls  in  the  short- head  territory. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  location  of  this  village  is  eleven  miles  north 
west  of  Chillicothe,  in  a  region  that  appeals  no  less 
to  the  susceptibilities  of  the  lover  of  nature  than  to 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  archaeologist. 

Approaching  it  from  Chillicothe,  the  first  view  is 
from  a  high  hill  somewhat  more  than  a  mile  away, 
on  the  summit  of  which  stands  a  small  mound. 

Taking  this  as  a  point  of  observation,  one  sees 
stretching  away  toward  the  north,  mile  after  mile, 
until  lost  in  the  horizon,  a  tract  of  level  or  slightly 
rolling  land,  productive  to  the  highest  degree. 

Ages  ago,  when  the  great  ice-sheet  came  slowly 
but  resistlessly  down  from  the  frozen  regions  of  the 
north,  it  carried  with  it  great  masses  of  powdered 
rocks  which  it  had  gathered  on  its  way,  from  the 
quartz  and  granites  of  Canada  to  the  limestone  areas 
of  central  Ohio ;  it  intermixed  them  with  the  clays 
which  it  formed  by  pulverizing  the  shales  that 
abound  in  all  the  hills  throughout  this  region.  Later, 
when  the  great  floods  came,  they  sifted  and  sorted 
this  abundance  of  material,  throwing  the  heavier 
parts  to  the  bottom  as  a  foundation  upon  which  to 
place  in  orderly  strata  the  finer  deposits  forming  the 


1 14  PRIMITIVE   MA  AT  IN  OHIO. 

thousands  of  acres  of  inexhaustible  fertility  which 
are  now  spread  out  before  us,  covered  with  comfort 
able  homes,  large  barns,  the  finest  of  livestock  of 
every  sort,  and  all  the  other  testimony  of  a  thrifty, 
prosperous,  and  contented  farming  community. 

To  the  left,  forming  a  definite  boundary  to  this 
charming  valley,  is  a  range  of  high  hills  whose  sum 
mits  command  a  view  of  equal  beauty  toward  the 
west. 

Flowing  across  the  bottom,  following  closely  to 
the  western  and  southern  hills,  is  the  little  stream 
known  as  the  North  Fork  of  Paint  Creek,  which  in 
pre-glacial  times  seems  to  have  had  its  outlet  toward 
the  northeast.  On  seeking  its  former  channel  when 
the  retreat  of  the  ice-mass  allowed  the  streams 
to  resume  their  course,  it  found  great  barriers 
of  drift  interposing  as  an  obstacle  which  it  could 
neither  surmount  nor  evade.  It  was  therefore  com 
pelled  to  pursue  another  course,  and  now  makes  its 
escape  through  a  deep,  narrow  gorge  which  the  over 
flow  from  the  lake  that  lay  in  front  of  the  glacier  on 
its  backward  journey  had  cleft  in  the  hills  toward  the 
south — a  place  as  wild  and  gloomy  now  as  when  it 
was  the  haunt  of  the  Indian. 

Preceding  the  advent  of  the  white  settlers,  the 
place  where  Frankfort  now  stands  wras  the  site  of  the 
Shawnee  town  of  Chillicothe.  In  many  of  the  houses 
in  the  neighborhood  may  be  seen  various  relics  of 
that  tribe,  found  on  the  surface — silver  ornaments, 
iron  hatchets,  now  almost  destroyed  by  rust,  glass 
beads,  gun  flints,  and  many  articles  which  could  not 
have  been  obtained  except  from  the  whites.  Along 


EXCA  VA  TIONS  A  T  FRANKFORT.  1 1 5 

with  these  are  also  found  celts,  arrow-heads,  and 
ornaments  of  native  manufacture. 

We  find  evidence,  too,  that  this  region  was  occu 
pied  by  an  industrious  community,  long  anterior  to 
the  invasion  of  the  Shawnees.  Lying  immediately  to 
the  west  of  the  town  is  one  of  those  remarkable  en 
closures,  so  many  of  which  exist  in  this  county.  It 
consists  of  a  square  and  two  circles  in  combination, 
the  three  including  an  area  of  about  fifty  acres.  The 
necessary  grading  in  making  streets,  erecting  build 
ings,  etc.,  over  a  portion  of  it — for  the  town  has  en 
croached  upon  the  eastern  side — and  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil  over  the  remainder  has  almost  obliterated 
it.  One  can  now  find  only  a  trace  here  and  there  of 
the  walls,  which  had  once  an  altitude  of  five  or  six  feet. 

Many  mounds,  also,  are  to  be  found  on  this  level 
ground,  but  they,  like  the  walls  of  the  enclosure, 
have  been  sadly  damaged  by  the  plow  and  harrow. 
Other  small  mounds  are  to  be  found  on  the  high 
land  in  various  directions.  So  far  as  these  have  been 
explored  they  have  revealed  nothing  to  repay  the  in 
vestigators  for  their  labor. 

Upon  the  farm  of  Mr.  Tighlman  Porter,  whose 
dwelling  is  at  the  western  side  of  the  village,  are  five 
mounds  ;  three  of  them  form  a  connected  group  a 
few  yards  south  of  the  pike  leading  to  Washington, 
C.  H.  The  two  others  are  near  together,  about  three 
hundred  yards  from  these,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  pike. 

Mr.  Porter  had  always  refused  to  allow  these 
mounds  to  be  disturbed  ;  but  finally  accorded  to  us 
the  privilege  of  opening  two  of  them. 


Il6  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

MOUND  NUMBER  FIFTEEN.' — This  is  the  larger  one 
of  the  two  north  of  the  pike.  When  we  began  work 
a  careful  measurement  showed  it  to  be  oval  in  out 
line,  the  length  being  one  hundred  and  ten  feet, 
breadth  sixty  feet,  and  height  five  feet.  The  bear 
ing  of  the  longer  axis  was  north,  thirty  degrees  east, 
and  the  greatest  width  was  at  a  distance  of  forty-eight 
feet  from  the  southern  end.  For  distinction,  the 
point  where  these  two  diameters  cross  wall  be  called 
the  centre  of  the  mound.  The  real  centre,  of  course, 
lay  several  feet  farther  toward  the  north.  Accord 
ing  to  old  residents,  it  was  originally  twenty  feet  in 
height,  an  impossible  figure,  as  we  shall  demonstrate, 
and  mentioned  only  to  show  how  little  reliance  is  to 
be  placed  on  statements  regarding  matters  of  this 
kind,  and  how,  with  no  intention  whatever  of  decep 
tion,  people  unaccustomed  to  careful  measurements  in 
variably  exaggerate  the  height  of  mounds.  Our  work 
revealed  that  within  four  feet  of  the  margin  entirely 
surrounding  the  mound,  was  a  stone  pavement  not 
over  two  feet  in  width.  It  was  formed  by  a  single 
layer  of  pebbles  the  size  of  a  man's  fist,  taken,  appa 
rently,  from  the  creek  bed  near  by.  It  may  be  con 
sidered  certain  that  when  this  pavement  was  made 
it  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  slope,  the  completed  mound 
rising  from  its  inner  edge.  This  being  the  case,  if 
all  the  earth  washed  from  above  were  restored 
to  its  original  position  over  the  upper  surface, 
the  height  of  the  mound  would  not  be  increased 
thereby  to  an  amount  exceeding  four  feet — making 

1  A  short  account  of  the   exploration  of  this  mound  was  printed  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Cincinnati  Society  of  Natural  History  for  April,  1889. 


EXCA  VA  TIONS  A  T  FRANKFOR  T.  1 1  / 

the   structure    nine    feet  instead    of  twenty  feet  in 
hight. 

The  same  tendency  to  error  prevails  in  estimating 
the  degree  of  slope.  This  is  often  represented,  even 
in  what  are  considered  standard  works,  at  as  much 
as  sixty -five  or  seventy  degrees  ;  whereas,  it  is  impos 
sible  to  find  a  mound  the  diameter  of  whose  base  does 
not  exceed,  or  at  least  equal,  four  times  its  height. 
Earth  piled  up  and  left  to  the  action  of  the  ele 
ments  will  not  stand  at  a  greater  angle.  We  often 
find  the  breadth  at  the  base  of  a  mound  to  be  ten 
or  even  fifteen  times  its  elevation.1 

All  this,  however,  has  no  bearing  upon  our  ex 
plorations,  which  will  now  be  taken  up.2 

Beginning  at  the  south  end  of  the  mound,  we 
extend  a  trench  entirely  through  it,  twenty-two  feet 
wide  at  the  margin.  This  was  gradually  extended 
until  at  the  centre  it  measured  thirty-four  feet — nar 
rowing  somewhat  thence  to  the  northern  extremity. 
Thus  we  were  at  no  time  more  than  about  seven  feet 
from  the  circumference  of  the  mound  as  it  was  built. 
As  everything  we  found  was  in  these  limits,  the  re 
sults  of  the  exploration  would  have  been  the  same 
had  every  spadeful  of  earth  been  removed.  To 
satisfy  ourselves  fully  upon  this  point,  we  dug  nar 
row  trenches  at  several  places  toward  the  outer 
edge  of  the  mound,  always  with  the  same  result- 
finding  only  the  stone  pavement  alluded  to. 


1  See  page    102   of   Marquis  de  Nadaillac's    work,    Prehistoric    America, 
for  an  exaggeration  of  the  slope  of  the  Marietta  mound. 

2  See  page  60,  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.     Also  Plate 
XXI.,  Figure  4,  ibid. 


Il8  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

There  were  two  skeletons  about  three  feet  below  the 
surface  at  the  highest  point  of  the  mound ;  nothing 
had  been  placed  with  them,  and  they  were  evidently 
intrusive  burials. 

One  foot  below  the  surface,  near  the  western  side 
of  the  trench,  about  twenty  feet  from  the  margin  at 
which  we  began,  was  the  outer  whorl  of  a  sea-shell. 
It  measured  six  inches  in  width  by  ten  and  a  half 
inches  in  length,  and  the  whorl  and  edges  had  been 
cut  down  with  great  care,  and  had  apparently  been 
used  as  a  vessel.  It  was  filled  with  clean,  fine  sand, 
and  lay  with  the  opening  downward. 

With  these  exceptions  there  were  no  objects  found 
anywhere  above  the  base  of  the  mound.  Possibly 
the  shell  had  been  buried  with  a  body  whose  last 
trace  had  disappeared  by  reason  of  its  proximity  to 
the  surface.  If  this  was  the  case,  it  may  reasonably 
be  looked  upon  as  an  intrusive  burial,  like  the  skele 
tons  mentioned. 

The  mound  was  distinctly  stratified,  although  the 
strata  were  not  always  regular,  being  thicker  in 
some  parts  than  in  others.  Beginning  at  the  top  it 
was  composed  of: 

Black  soil,  one  foot. 

Gravel,  one  foot. 

Brown  earth,  or  loam,  three  inches. 

Yellow  clayey  loam,  three  inches. 

Black  soil,  six  inches. 

Clean  white  sand,  eight  inches. 

Black  soil  containing  pebbles,  three  to  four  inches. 

Gravel,  mixed  with  a  clayey  sand,  one  foot. 

Immediately  underneath  this  bottom  layer,  upon 


FIG.  xvi. — Ground  plan  of  Porter  mound,  No.  15.      See  page  116. 

119 


I2O  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

the  original  surface,  we  found  the  most  remarkable 
deposits,  both  as  to  quantity  and  variety,  that  it 
had,  so  far,  been  our  fortune  to  unearth.  We  will 
describe  these  in  the  order  in  which  we  came  upon 
them. 

To  aid  the  reader  in  locating  the  various  objects, 
we  shall  give  their  distance  from  the  inner  edge  of 
the  stone  pavement  (A)  at  the  southern  end,  and 
east  and  west,  as  the  case  may  be,  of  the  longer  axis, 
which  may  be  called  the  middle  line  of  the  mound.1 

At  fourteen  feet  inside  of  and  four  feet  west  of 
this  line,  were  some  fragments  of  a  cremated  skele 
ton  (B),  small  portions  of  the  skull  of  which  re 
mained,  showing  very  distinctly  the  marks  of  fire. 
The  burning  had  evidently  taken  place  elsewhere. 
Alongside  of  these  pieces  of  bones  lay  the  outer 
whorl  of  a  sea-shell  (c),  measuring  seven  by  twelve 
and  a  half  inches.  It  was  placed  in  a  mass  of  very 
fine  black  earth,  and,  like  the  one  found  near  the 
top  of  the  mound,  was  filled  with  sand. 

It  may  be  a  matter  of  some  significance  that  all 
the  shells  of  the  kind  we  refer  to  present  this  same 
peculiar  feature.  They  are  either  partially  or  en 
tirely  filled  with  sand,  wholly  free  from  clay  or 
gravel,  as  if  taken  from  a  stream  of  water. 

At  twenty-five  feet  inside  of  the  middle  line  were 
three  pockets  (D),  two  feet  apart,  nearly  in  an  east 
and  west  line.  The  most  western  one  was  four  feet 


1  The  diagram  given,  Fig.  xvi.,  which  represents  the  ground-plan,  will 
be  of  assistance,  although  not  accurate  in  every  particular.  The  original 
drawing,  made  at  the  time  of  the  excavation,  was  lost,  and  this  is  made  from 
the  description  in  the  text. — W.  K.  M. 


EXCA  VA  TIONS  A  T  FRA  NKFOR  T.  121 

from  the  line  and  twenty-eight  inches  deep,  being 
filled  with  ashes. 

The  next  discovery  was  at  a  distance  of  thirty-two 
feet  from  the  stone  circle,  and  two  feet  east  of  the 
middle  line,  at  the  point  E,  where  we  made  a  very 
interesting  find.  In  a  mass  of  fine,  soft,  black  earth, 
were  two  thin  copper  plates,  one  placed  above  the 
other,  and  about  an  inch  apart.  The  lower  plate 
measured  seven  by  nine  and  a  half  inches,  the  upper 
six  by  eight  inches.  Spread  out  evenly  upon  the 
lower  plate  were  one  hundred  and  ninety -seven  large 
shell  beads,  neatly  drilled,  finely  polished,  and  per 
fect  in  every  respect.  Resting  upon  these,  in  contact 
with  the  upper  plate,  were  twenty-one  of  the  spool- 
shaped  copper  objects,  which  Professor  Putnam, 
Curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  is  of  the  opinion 
were  intended  for  ornaments  to  be  worn  in  the  lobe 
of  the  ear.  As  we  shall  have  to  record  the  discovery 
of  quite  a  number  of  these,  we  shall  use  the  term, 
"  spool-shaped  ornaments  "  in  referring  to  them,  and 
restrict  that  term  to  this  particular  class  of  speci 
mens.1  They  are  made  of  two  disks  of  copper,  each 
having  a  double  curvature,  and  joined  by  a  hollow 
cylinder  of  the  same  material.  Around  some  of 
these  cylinders  were  traces  of  leather,  or  a  similar 
substance,  that  had  been  preserved  by  the  copper- 
possibly  a  thong  or  cord,  by  which  they  had  been 
suspended,  or  of  something  that  had  been  used  to 


1  We  beg  leave  to  differ  from  the  learned  Professor.  We  have  found 
spool-shaped  ornaments  upon  the  hands  and  wrists  of  some  forty  skeletons 
in  our  mound  experience.  Never  but  twice  have  we  seen  them  near  the 
head.—  W.  K.  M. 


122  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

prevent  the  rough  edges  of  the  copper  from  caus 
ing  pain,  if  they  were  used  for  the  purpose  above 
indicated. 

Traces  of  wood  fibre  were  discernible  in  several 
places  on  the  outer  surface  of  both  plates,  from 
which  we  infer  that  tbe  specimens  were  wrapped  in 
bark  before  being  deposited.  The  whole  mass  was 
probably  enclosed  in  skins  or  cloth  of  some  kind 
which  had  entirely  decayed,  for  the  soft  earth  on 
which  they  lay  was  certainly  not  natural  soil. 

Some  of  the  spool-shaped  ornaments,  the  bear 
teeth,  flint  knives,  and  spear-head,  are  shown  in 
Figure  xvm.  Several  of  the  beads  may  be  seen  in 
the  upper  portion  of  Figure  xx.,  together  with  two 
of  the  perforated  panther  teeth. 

At  the  same  distance  from  the  margin  as  these 
plates  were  two  skeletons  (F  F),  one  on  either  side 
of  the  middle  line  and  about  ten  feet  from  it.  Five 
feet  farther  on,  lying  six  feet  nearer  together  than 
the  last,  were  two  others  (G  G).  All  these  had  their 
heads  to  the  southwest.  The  bones  were  so  de 
cayed  that  the  various  parts  comprising  the  skeleton 
could  not  be  taken  out. 

At  the  centre  of  the  mound  was  a  space  two  by 
four  feet  (n),  where  the  earth  had  been  burnt  to  a 
depth  of  three  inches.  On  this  was  piled  up  at 
least  six  bushels  of  ashes  in  a  dome-shaped  mass. 
They  were  very  fine,  free  from  the  slightest  admix 
ture  of  charcoal  or  other  substance,  and  almost  as 
white  as  snow.  The  fire  from  which  they  resulted, 
which  had  evidently  been  made  of  hickory  wood, 
had  been  made  elsewhere  and  the  ashes  carefully 


FIG.    xvii. — Skeleton    "R"   with    accompanying    objects,    from    Porter 
mound,  No.  15.     See  page  126. 

123 


124  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

gathered  and  carried  to  the  spot.  No  relic,  frag 
ment  of  bone,  or  any  other  object  was  found  in  or 
near  either  the  ashes  or  the  burnt  earth  upon  which 
they  rested. 

Forty-five  feet  from  the  stone  circle,  and  five  east 
of  the  middle  line,  were  two  skeletons  side  by  side, 
the  heads  pointing  nearly  east.  Resting  on  the  skull 
of  the  first  (i)  was  a  copper  plate,  which  had 
been  beaten  out  so  thin  as  to  be  almost  destroyed 
by  the  damp  ground  in  contact  with  it.  Only  small 
fragments  of  it  could  be  secured.  Immediately  to 
the  right  of  the  other  (j)  was  found  a  pocket  (K) 
thirty  inches  deep,  filled  with  ashes.  A  similar 
pocket  (L)  was  found  almost  on  the  middle  line, 
and  about  six  feet  west  of  it  still  another  (M), 
which  was  covered  by  a  layer  of  small  stones, 
extending  far  beyond  its  edge  on  every  side,  to 
make  a  bed  two  feet  across.  Between  the  last  two 
were  traces  of  a  skeleton  (N),  the  head  of  which  lay 
toward  the  north. 

The  next  skeleton  (o)  was  fifty-eight  feet  from 
the  stone  circle,  and  five  feet  east  of  the  middle  line. 
Only  one  object  had  been  buried  with  it.  This  was 
a  very  rare  specimen — namely,  an  ornament  made 
from  a  bone  of  some  large  animal,  and  wrought  in 
imitation  of  one  of  the  commoner  forms  of  slate 
gorgets.1  It  was  well  finished,  with  two  perfora 
tions,  and,  although  one  end  is  broken  off  so  that 
the  exact  length  cannot  be  determined,  it  probably 
measured  about  six  inches  when  perfect. 

1  The  ornament  mentioned  is  shown  in  Fig.  xvin.,  together  with  strung 
pearl  beads,  bear  tusks,  knives,  beads,  etc. 


125 


126  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

At  sixty-two  feet  in,  and  ten  feet  east  of  the 
middle  line,  we  came  upon  another  pocket  (P).  All 
of  those  previously  discovered  had  been  carefully 
examined  and  found  to  contain  nothing  but  ashes. 
This  one,  however,  was  covered  with  a  large  sheet 
of  mica,  which  gave  promise  of  better  results  below. 
We  were  not  disappointed  in  our  expectations,  for 
scattered  through  the  ashes  within  the  pit  were 
nine  hundred  and  ninety  pearl  beads.  Most  of 
them  were  very  small,  although  a  few  were  as  large 
as  buckshot.  They  were  from  the  common  unio 
shells,  so  abundant  in  the  streams  of  this  region, 
and  each  one  was  neatly  drilled. 

Just  to  the  east  of  the  pit  were  some  small  frag 
ments  of  the  cranium  and  other  portions  of  a  skel 
eton  (Q). 

Two  feet  to  the  northwest  of  the  pit  was  found 
a  skull,  which  proved  to  belong  to  a  well  preserved 
skeleton  (R),  measuring  over  six  feet  in  length,  that 
lay  extended,  with  head  to  the  south.  On  the 
forehead  were  five  bear  tusks,  each  with  several 
holes  drilled  partially  through  it.  Probably  all 
these  perforations  had  formerly  held  smaller  teeth, 
pearls,  or  some  other  objects  which  were  supposed 
to  enhance  the  beauty  of  the  ornaments.  One  of 
them  still  holds  the  tooth  of  a  ground-hog  neatly 
fitted  into  it.  Two  of  them  are  represented  in 
Figure  xvin.,  one  on  either  side  of  the  pearls. 

By  the  left  side  of  the  head  lay  four  spool-shaped 
ornaments ;  at  the  top  of  the  head  were  two  flat 
beads,  about  three  fourths  of  an  inch  in  diam 
eter,  made  of  the  mussel  shell,  each  with  two  holes 


128  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

drilled  in  it.  Near  the  right  elbow  was  a  copper 
plate,  six  by  seven  inches.  The  position  of  the 
skeleton,  with  the  accompanying  objects,  is  shown 
in  Figure  xvn. 

At  seventy  feet  in,  and  twelve  feet  west  of  the 
middle  line,  at  a  point  marked  s  in  the  plan,  we 
found  one  of  the  altars  first  described  by  Messrs. 
Squier  and  Davis,  the  first  of  the  kind  we  had  ever 
seen.  A  mass  of  clay  had  been  worked  or  kneaded 
until  of  uniform  consistency,  and  spread  on  the 
bottom  in  a  layer  about  eight  inches  thick.  It  had 
then  been  dressed  off  at  the  sides  until  the  top  was 
a  rectangle  twenty-four  by  thirty  inches,  the  corners 
being  neatly  rounded.  A  depression  twelve  by 
eighteen  inches,  with  a  depth  of  four  inches,  the 
corners  rounded,  like  those  of  the  outer  perimeter, 
was  then  excavated,  leaving  a  rim  or  border  with  a 
uniform  width  of  six  inches.  After  this  the  entire 
altar  had  been  subjected  to  an  intense  heat,  for  we 
found  it  burned  red  and  hard  throughout,  the  basin 
being  filled  with  ashes  and  small  fragments  of 
human  bones  almost  destroyed  by  the  heat.  There 
was  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether  the  altar  had 
been  burned  before  the  cremation  had  taken  place, 
or  whether  it  had  been  allowed  to  dry  in  the  air  and 
hardened  by  the  same  fire  that  had  consumed  the 
body.  We  were  very  desirous  of  securing  this 
altar,  for  no  one  had  ever  succeeded  in  removing 
one  entire. 1  The  men  dug  carefully  around  it, 

1  Since  these  notes  were  made  Prof.  Putnam  has  taken  out,  near  Madison- 
ville,  Ohio,  one  of  the  largest  that  has  ever  been  found,  if  we  except  the  re 
markable  one  at  Mound  City,  mentioned  by  Squier  and  Davis. — W.  K.  M. 


EXCAVATIONS  AT  FRANKFORT.  I2Q 

leaving  what  we  considered  a  safe  margin  of  earth 
on  every  side,  and  then  endeavored  to  lift  it  out. 
In  spite  of  all  our  efforts  it  broke  in  two  pieces,  but 
each  part  was  removed  without  further  injury  and 
placed  in  a  large  box.  Unfortunately,  we  allowed 
it  to  dry  out  too  rapidly,  in  consequence  of  which  it 
cracked  and  scaled  badly,  and  in  a  few  days  was  in 
fragments.1 

Directly  east  of  it,  twenty-five  feet  distant,  was  a 
mass  of  burnt  clay  (T),  irregular  in  outline,  about 
four  feet  across,  and  four  inches  in  thickness.  T'he 
surface  was  flat,  and  had  no  remains  of  any  kind 
placed  on  it. 

Seventy-eight  feet  from  the  starting-point  and  ex 
actly  on  the  middle  line  were  two  extended  skeletons, 
laid  near  together,  with  feet  to  the  north.  Near  the 
head  of  one  (u)  was  a  plate  of  copper  six  by  seven 
inches,  and  four  spool-shaped  ornaments.  The  plate 
had  fragments  of  thread  adhering  to  both  sides,  as 
though  it  had  been  wrapped  in  cloth.  Under  the 
head  of  the  other  (v)  were  four  more  spool-shaped 
ornaments.  Eleven  wolf  teeth  were  found  among 
the  cervical  vertebrae.  They  were  neatly  drilled 
for  suspension.  Two  perforated  ornaments  made 
from  a  mussel  shell  were  also  excavated.  No  doubt 

It  is  placed  on  exhibition  in  the  rooms  of  the  Cincinnati  Society  of  Natural 
History  ;  on  account  of  its  great  weight,  Professor  Putnam  feared  to  risk 
its  shipment  to  Cambridge,  as  it  would  certainly  be  injured  or  broken. 
Several  altars  have  likewise  been  shipped  to  Professor  Putnam  from  the 
Turner  group  of  mounds,  near  Milford,  Ohio. 

1  This  was  in  1888.      In  September  and  October,  1891,  and  January,  1892, 
we  removed  entire  three  large  altars  for  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition, 
one  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington,  and  two  for  the  Peabody 
Museum  of  Cambridge,  Mass.  — \V.  K.  M. 
9 


130  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

these  had  formed  a  necklace.  Between  the  jaws 
were  fifty  pearl  beads  which  had  evidently  been 
placed  inside  of  the  mouth  at  the  time  of  burial. 
The  cranium  was  saved  entire. 

The  last  thing  in  the  mound  was  at  a  distance  of 
eighty-two  feet  from  our  place  of  beginning.  Here  we 
came  upon  the  edge  of  an  ash-bed  (w),  which  mea 
sured  seven  by  ten  feet,  and  two  feet  in  thickness,  its 


FIG.  xx. — Beads  and  panther  teeth,  from  Porter  mound,  No. 
15.      See  page  122. 

long  axis  at  right  angles  to  that  of  the  mound.  Scat 
tered  about  through  the  ashes  with  no  regularity  as 
to  position,  we  found  a  number  of  flint  flakes  and 
twenty-six  fine  leaf-shaped  flint  implements,  five 
plates  of  mica,  cut  to  perfect  circles  somewhat  larger 
than  a  silver  dollar ;  a  celt  of  symmetrical  form, 
highly  polished,  together  with  great  quantities  of 
the  calcined  bones  of  various  animals  and  birds. 


EXCA  VA  TIONS  A  T  FRANKFOR  T.  1 3 1 

Nearly  a  half  bushel  of  charred  hickory  nuts  were 
also  discovered,  and  hundreds  of  fragments  of 
pottery.  The  most  interesting  find  was  that  of 
fourteen  earthenware  pots,  each  of  a  capacity  of 
about  two  quarts.  They  had  been  placed  in  the 
ash-bed,  most  of  them  with  the  mouth  turned 
downward.  Owing  to  the  looseness  of  the  ashes, 
we  could  easily  uncover  them  sufficiently  to  deter 
mine  their  size  and  shape.  It  was  impossible  to  get 
any  of  them  out,  as  they  were  very  soft  and  much 
broken,  although  all  the  pieces  remained  in  their 
proper  positions — thus  proving  the  vessels  had  been 
entire  when  deposited. 

It  appears  that  this  mound  therefore  contained 
many  interesting  features  throughout  almost  its  en 
tire  extent ;  while  others  much  more  imposing  in 
appearance  held  nothing  worth  digging  for. 

MOUND  NUMBER  SEVENTEEN. — This  is  the  largest 
mound  of  a  group  of  five  others  on  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Coiner,  on  the  high  table-land  three  and  a  half  miles 
southwest  of  Frankfort.  It  is  eleven  feet  high  and 
sixty  feet  in  diameter. 

Success  with  the  Porter  mound  had  raised  our 
hopes  to  a  high  pitch,  and  we  began  on  the  west 
side  with  a  trench  twenty-two  feet  in  width,  which 
was  increased  until  at  the  centre  it  was  thirty  feet. 

About  ten  feet  from  the  centre,  we  came  upon 
five  skeletons  lying  close  together;  these  were 
two  feet  above  the  original  surface,  with  heads  to 
the  east.  Four  of  them  had  been  buried  without 
any  ornaments  or  relics.  Under  the  head  of  the 
fifth  was  a  broken  arrow-head  and  a  diamond-shaped 


132  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

stone  ornament.  At  the  side  of  the  head  were 
thirty-two  disk-shaped  shell  beads,  and  a  piece  of 
slate  the  size  of  a  dollar,  with  some  peculiar  mark 
ings  on  it. 

A  small  copper  bead  lay  one  foot  below  the  sum 
mit  and  was  discovered  accidentally.  Finds  of  such 
nature  do  not  signify  anything,  as  many  articles  are 
lost  in  mounds  during  their  construction. 

Upon  the  base  line  exactly  at  the  centre  were  re 
mains  of  a  skeleton.  It  was  not  ascertained  whether 
any  objects  were  with  the  bones,  for  a  few  moments 
after  observing  them  the  mound  caved  in,  owing  to 
an  excavation  which  had  been  previously  made. 
Mr.  Moorehead  was  caught  by  the  falling  earth  and 
so  seriously  injured  that  he  was  compelled  to  aban 
don  the  work. 


CHAPTER  XL 

MOUND    NUMBER    THIRTY-EIGHT.1 

THE  three  mounds  heretofore  mentioned,  situated 
on  Mr.  Porter's  land,  south  of  the  Chillicothe  and 
Washington  pike,  are  nearly  in  a  straight  line,  and 
built  so  closely  together  that  the  bases  of  each  unite. 
The  northern  mound  has  a  height  of  fifteen  feet, 
with  a  diameter  of  one  hundred  and  twenty.  The 
mound  farthest  to  the  south  measures  nine  feet  high 
and  seventy-two  feet  across  the  base.  The  other, 
built  between  these  two,  has  a  height  of  six  feet, 
with  a  breadth  from  east  to  west  of  about  sixty-five 
feet.  It  reaches  nearly  four  feet  up  the  slope  of 
the  mounds  which  stand  on  either  side.  If  this 
structure  were  to  be  removed  and  the  others  con 
tinued  to  a  general  level  with  the  same  slope  that 
they  present  at  other  parts,  their  distance  from  each 
other,  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  would  be  about 
thirty  feet. 

Mr.  Porter  was  unwilling  that  the  large  mound 
should  be  defaced,  but  allowed  us  to  open  the  one 
next  in  size. 

We  began  on  the  south  side  with  a  trench  which, 
as  we  progressed,  was  enlarged  sufficiently  to  unearth 
every  deposit  that  had  been  made.  Besides  removing 

1  April,  1889. 
133 


PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 


all  the  earth  for  several  feet  beyond  where  any  de 
posits  were  found,  we  dug  minor  trenches  at  short 
intervals  into  the  portion  not  worked,  in  order  to 
make  sure  that  nothing  had  been  overlooked. 

The  only  objects  found  in  the  upper  portion  of 
the  mound  were  at  a  point  twenty  feet  from  the 
southern  margin,  three  feet  above  the  general  surface 
and  five  feet  below  the  top.  Here  were  three  copper 
celts,  upon  which  rested  eight  spool-shaped  orna 
ments.  With  them  were  portions  of  three  human 
ribs,  preserved  by  the  copper.  There  may  have  been 
an  intrusive  burial  at  this  place,  but  it  seems  im 
probable,  for  no  traces  of  other  bones  could  be  found 
with  the  specimens,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  a 
skeleton  should  not  last  a  long  time  in  earth  such  as 
that  which  surrounded  them.  Neither  did  the  layers 
above  seem  to  be  disturbed.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  number  of  specimens  and  the  evident  care  in 
their  arrangement  preclude  the  idea  that  they  had 
been  unwittingly  cast  in  with  the  earth.  While  the 
identity  of  the  ornaments  with  those  found  at  the 
base  warrants  the  supposition  that  they  are  of  the 
same  age,  the  reason  for  depositing  them  at  a  distance 
from  any  other  objects  is  not  manifest. 

The  disposition  of  the  various  layers  is  such  that 
this  may  be  called  a  stratified  mound,  although  the 
strata  have  little  regularity  in  either  extent  or  thick 
ness,  and  sections  taken  at  different  points  would  all 
present  a  different  appearance.  Our  best  section  was 
made  from  east  to  west,  at  a  point  seven  feet  north 
of  the  centre,  where  the  layers  are  more  plainly 
marked  than  elsewhere.  Beginning  at  the  top  we 


MOUND   NUMBER    THIRTY-EIGHT.  135 

find  first  the  soil  which  had  been  removed  by  cultiva 
tion  and  erosion  ;  then- 
Yellow  clay  .         twelve  inches, 

Dark  clay    .  six 

Gravel          .  six 

Yellow  clay  .         twelve 

Coarse  gravel       .  four 

Yellow  clay          .  eight          " 

Gravel  .         .  .         four 

Yellow  clay          .  .         streak. 

Gravel          .  six  " 

Yellow  clay          .  .         forty 

The  thickness  of  the  lowest  stratum  is  given  from 
its  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  mound.  From  this  is 
to  be  deducted  the  thickness  of  such  deposits  as 
occurred  beneath  it,  thereby  causing  a  considerable 
variation  in  its  amount  at  different  points. 

The  first  step  in  the  work  of  erecting  the  mound 
consisted  in  levelling  and  burning  over  the  area  to 
be  covered.  This  made  a  hard,  smooth  surface,  on 
which  were  placed  the  many  interesting  remains  now 
to  be  described. 

The  south  side  of  the  mound,  for  a  distance  of 
twelve  feet  from  the  margin  had  been  hauled  away 
to  fill  a  hole  near  by,  and  we  began  on  that  portion 
of  the  bank  which  remained. 

Within  two  feet  we  made  our  first  find,  and  for 
thirty  feet  we  unearthed  one  interesting  object  after 
another,  until  our  discoveries  here  surpassed  those 
made  in  any  other  mound  that  it  has  been  our  fortune 
to  excavate. 


136 


PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 


The  accompanying  diagram,  Figure  xxi.,  which  is 
made  on  a  scale  of  seven  feet  to  an  inch,  shows  the 
limit  of  our  excavation.  The  position  of  everything 
discovered  is  also  indicated,  so  that  it  will  only  be 
necessary  to  refer  to  the  different  finds  by  the  cor 
responding  letter. 


Ground  plan  of  Porter  mound,  No.  38. 

At  A  we  found  a  mass  of  charcoal  and  ashes  con 
taining  many  bones  of  animals  and  birds  in  a  broken 
and  charred  condition,  as  if  the  whole  had  been  taken 
from  a  fire-place  or  ash-bed  where  a  meal  had  been 
partaken  of.  Similar  masses  were  found  frequently, 


MOUND   NUMBER    THIRTY-EIGHT.  137 

but  as  none  contained  anything  more  than  the  one 
mentioned,  they  are  not  indicated  on  the  plan. 

West  of  this  charcoal,  at  the  point  marked  B,  we 
found  a  large  pyrula  shell  and  the  upper  jaw  of  a 
ground-hog,  imbedded  in  a  small  amount  of  soft, 
black  earth,  which  seemed  to  have  resulted  from  de 
cayed  organic  matter  of  some  kind. 

The  first  skeleton  unearthed  is  shown  at  E.  It 
lay  extended  with  the  head  toward  the  north,  the 
bones  being  badly  decayed.  Two  bear  teeth  lay 
close  to  the  cranium. 

The  next  skeleton,  c,  lay  to  the  southeast  of  this. 
The  bones  were  much  better  preserved  than  those 
of  the  previous  interment.  No  relics  were  placed 
with  it. 

At  D  was  found  a  skeleton  with  head  to  the 
northwest,  on  the  head  of  which  lay  a  copper  plate. 
It  is  five  by  eight  and  one  quarter  inches,  and  the 
surface  was  covered  with  a  network  of  fibre,  the  im 
pression  of  which  cloth  was  plainly  perceptible  on 
the  salts  of  copper  covering  it.  Near  the  right  hand 
were  three  spool-shaped  ornaments  and  a  copper 
celt. 

To  the  east  of  D  was  another  skeleton,  F,  with 
head  toward  the  west.  Nothing  was  found  with 
it,  and  the  bones  were  so  soft  that  they  crumbled 
away  in  a  short  time  after  it  was  uncovered.  The 
bones  of  the  next  skeleton,  K,  lying  east  of  r,  with  its 
head  to  the  north,  were  in  a  similar  condition  to 
that  described  in  the  preceding  interment. 

An  interesting  discovery  was  made  at  the  point 
marked  G.  A  skeleton  in  a  fair  state  of  preserva- 


138  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN   OHIO. 

tion,  except  that  the  feet  and  skull  were  badly 
crushed  and  decayed,  lay  with  its  head  to  the  south, 
in  a  mass  of  soft  black  earth,  six  inches  above  the 
base  line.  Upon  the  ground  at  its  feet  was  a  copper 
plate,  seven  by  twelve  inches  in  length,  which  was 
covered  on  both  sides  with  the  remains  of  cloth 
and  a  fragment  of  wood.  About  the  head  and  neck 
were  six  hundred  and  six  beautiful  pearl  beads, 
which  were  much  larger  than  those  discovered  in 
Number  Fifteen  ;  many  of  them  were  half  an  inch, 
and  some  fully  three  fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
All  were  drilled,  and  most  of  them  still  retain  their 
lustre.  Among  the  vertebrae,  as  if  they  had  been 
placed  on  his  breast,  were  eight  perforated  bear 
tusks ;  three  spool-shaped  ornaments  lay  by  one, 
which  was  discolored  by  the  oxidized  copper.  Be 
tween  the  femurs  were  found  twenty  disk-shaped, 
double  perforated  beads,  cut  from  mussel  shell  and 
well  polished. 

One  more  body,  marked  11  on  the  plan,  had  been 
placed  in  this  group ;  it  lay  near  and  parallel  to  G, 
and  had  four  of  the  spool-shaped  ornaments  near  the 
head.  These  were  so  badly  corroded  that  they 
could  only  be  taken  out  in  small  fragments. 

From  the  appearance  of  the  earth  about  these 
remains  and  the  position  of  such  articles  as  had 
been  buried  with  them,  it  was  plain  that  the  bodies 
had  been  interred  without  having  the  flesh  removed. 

Eight  feet  west  of  the  last  skeleton  we  uncovered 
an  altar  (i).  A  hole  a  foot  deep  had  been  dug  in 
the  natural  soil,  the  bottom  paved  with  small  burnt 
stones,  and  clay  packed  in  until  the  hole  was  filled 


MOUND   NUMBER    THIRTY-EIGHT.  139 

to  the  general  level.  The  surface  of  the  clay  had 
been  flattened  and  smoothed,  though  no  effort  was 
made  to  give  any  regularity  to  its  outline,  and  in  it 
was  excavated  a  basin  which  measured  twelve  by 
twenty  inches  and  four  and  a  half  inches  deep.  This 
was  not  placed  at  the  centre,  the  breadth  of  the 
border  around  it  varying  from  eight  to  twenty  inches 
in  different  parts.  Nothing  was  found  except  the 
earth  of  the  overlying  stratum,  and  the  clay  was 
only  slightly  burned.  The  builders  had  evidently 
abandoned  work  without  carrying  out  the  intention 
which  led  to  its  inception. 

North  of  skeleton  K  we  came  upon  a  mass  of  loose 
black  dirt  (enclosed  by  dotted  lines  on  the  plan),  and 
removing  all  the  earth  that  lay  above  this  we  found 
it  to  extend  over  a  space  of  nine  and  a  half  by  four 
teen  feet,  with  a  thickness  of  one  and  a  half  to  two 
and  a  half  feet.  Under  this,  upon  the  original  sur 
face,  were  the  remains  of  seven  cremated  bodies, 
each  lying  in  a  little  pile  by  itself,  and  occupying  a 
space  from  twenty  by  twenty-four  inches  to  twenty- 
four  by  thirty  inches.  A  few  of  the  vertebrae  and 
several  of  the  ribs  remained  intact  in  two  of  them, 
though  much  charred.  With  the  exception  of  these, 
no  entire  bones  were  found.  The  fragmentary  skele 
tons  are  indicated  by  the  letters  M  to  T  inclusive. 

With  isr  no  articles  whatever  were  found  ;  with  o 
was  a  copper  plate ;  close  to  p  we  found  three 
spool-shaped  ornaments ;  with  K  were  a  copper  plate 
five  by  six  inches,  and  a  pipe  in  small  fragments. 
Enough  of  this  remained  to  show  that  it  was  of  the 
"platform  "  or  "  mound-builder  "  type.  All  the  objects 


PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 


enumerated  had  been 
greatly  injured,  some 
of  them  almost  de 
stroyed,  by  the  in 
tense  heat  to  which 
they  had  been  sub 
jected. 

Near  s  was  a  small 
celt,  unhurt  by  the 
fire,  and  with  T  were 
four  spool-shaped  or 
naments,  only  slightly 
burned.  In  every  case 
the  relics  were  lying 
directly  on  top  of  the 
bones.  The  earth 
lying  below  had  no 
indications  of  such  a 
large  fire  as  the  con 
dition  of  these  objects 
would  lead  us  to  be 
lieve  had  been  neces 
sary  ;  yet  their  posi 
tion,  together  with 
the  charcoal  and  ashes 
that  wTere  scattered 
throughout  the  mass, 
makes  it  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  crema 
tion  had  taken  place. 
Whether  all  the  bod 
ies  or  only  the  skele- 


MOUND   NUMBER    THIRTY-EIGHT.  141 

tons  had  been  burned,  we  cannot  say.  If  the  former, 
then  they  must  have  been  folded  or  doubled  up, 
so  as  to  occupy  as  small  a  space  as  possible.  The 
plate  that  lay  upon  the  skeleton  marked  R,  and  the 
celt  with  the  one  marked  s,  are  shown  at  the  left 
and  right,  respectively,  of  Figure  xxn. 

Three  feet  from  the  northern  edge  of  the  black 
dirt  was  a  large  sea-shell,  marked  u  on  the  plan. 

Contrary  to  what  is  usual,  this  mound  had  few 
remains,  not  even  an  ash-bed,  at  the  centre  or  within 
several  feet  of  it. 

At  a  distance  of  twelve  feet,  a  little  north  of  west 
from  the  centre,  were  two  cremated  bodies,  marked 
v  and  w.  Eight  feet  northeast  of  them  lay  the  badly 
decayed  bones  of  another  skeleton,  x,  which  did  not 
show  any  marks  of  burning.  No  objects  were  found 
with  any  of  these  skeletons,  except  a  few  flint  frag 
ments  with  the  first. 

About  six  feet  east  of  the  last  skeleton  was  an 
other  altar,  Y,  similar  to  the  one  above  described, 
except  that  it  did  not  extend  quite  so  far  into  the 
ground,  and  had  no  stones  under  it.  A  mass  of 
ashes  and  charcoal  filled  the  basin,  but  no  bones 
were  among  them.  In  one  corner  was  a  pipe  of  the 
platform  pattern,  made  of  rather  soft  but  very  fine 
grained  stone.  It  was  well  finished  and  almost  per 
fect,  a  small  piece  being  broken  off  one  end  of  the  stem. 

Just  north  of  this  altar,  with  head  to  the  north,  lay 
a  large  skeleton,  z,  whose  bones  were  in  better  condi 
tion  than  any  other  we  had  found.  Nothing  was 
placed  with  it.  A  noticeable  feature  was  a  peculiar 
curvature  of  the  left  femur,  the  middle  being  fully 


142  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

two  inches  within  the  normal  "line  from  the  hip  to 
the  knee.  The  bones  were  too  soft  to  be  removed. 

To  the  east  of  z  was  a  pit  resembling  the  cavities 
in  the  mound  altars,  being  rectangular  with  rounded 
corners,  though  it  had  not  been  burned  in  the  least. 
It  measured  ten  by  twelve  inches  at  the  bottom, 
eight  inches  deep,  and  contained  the  remains  of  a 
young  child,  which  had  been  laid  on  its  side.  The 
bones  were  tolerably  well  preserved,  though  no  cov 
ering  of  any  kind  had  been  placed  over  the  body. 
Two  perforated  panther  teeth  and  some  small  snail 
shells  were  found  with  the  bones.  This  pit  is 
marked  A  A  on  the  plan. 

West  of  the  pit  was  a  cremated  skeleton,  BB,  with 
head  northeast.  Nothing  was  found  buried  with 
it,  but  near  the  right  side  was  a  mass  of  ashes  and 
fragments  of  pottery  occupying  a  space  nine  by  six 
teen  inches  and  one  inch  thick. 

At  cc  we  found  a  shallow  pit,  the  sides  of  which 
had  been  slightly  burned.  In  this  lay  the  remains 
of  a  large  but  badly  decayed  skeleton,  the  head 
being  turned  toward  the  northeast.  The  body  had 
evidently  been  folded,  as  the  pit  was  less  than  four 
feet  in  length. 

This  completed  the  exploration  of  mound  Num 
ber  Thirty-eight. 

An  inspection  of  the  plan  will  show  that,  if  we 
omit  the  mass  of  cremated  skeletons  on  the  east  side, 
the  deposits  here  were  scattered  at  random,  as  in 
Number  Fifteen. 

The  mounds  on  the  hill-tops  have  yielded  nothing 
to  repay  our  labor,  and  there  being  no  other  mounds 


MOUND  NUMBER    THIRTY-EIGHT.  143 

in  the  bottoms  that  we  could  obtain  permission  to 
excavate,  our  work  in  the  neighborhood  of  Frank 
fort  was  brought  to  an  end.  Removing  to  Chilli- 
cothe,  we  made  some  examinations  in  that  vicinity, 
the  results  of  which  will  be  set  forth  in  the  next 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EXCAVATIONS    NEAR    CHILLICOTHE. 

THE  beautiful  scenery  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  this  city  has  called  forth  expressions  of  admira 
tion  from  travellers  who  are  familiar  with  the  noted 
landscapes  of  the  world.  Almost  every  feature 
essential  to  natural  beauty  is  to  be  found  within  a 
few  miles.  The  views  from  the  rugged  hills,  some 
of  them  nearly  seven  hundred  feet  in  height  above 
the  streams  that  flow  at  their  base,  are  equal  to 
many  that  have  been  celebrated  in  song  and  story, 
or  transferred  to  the  canvas  of  the  painter.  The 
broad  level  valleys  that  stretch  to  the  limits  of 
vision  along  the  sparkling  waters  of  the  Scioto  River 
and  its  main  tributary  which  joins  it  near  here  ex 
ceed  in  fertility  even  the  famous  "Blue  Grass" 
region  of  Kentucky. 

It  is  not,  then,  a  matter  of  surprise,  but  is  rather 
only  what  we  should  expect,  to  find  this  favored 
region  the  chosen  abode  of  the  race  who  built  the 
great  earthworks  in  the  three  sister  States  whose  cor 
ners  meet  at  the  point  near  which  so  many  streams 
pay  their  tribute  to  the  Ohio.  These  unknown  peo 
ple  were  thus  afforded  facilities  for  easy  transit  from 
place  to  place  within  the  region  over  which  they 
held  dominion. 

144 


EXCAVATIONS  NEAR    CHILLICOTHE.  145 

In  Ross  County  are  to  be  found  more  of  the 
large  enclosures  erected  by  the  American  Race  than 
on  any  other  equal  area  in  the  country.  At  the 
first  settlement  of  this  territory  by  the  whites, 
mounds  were  to  be  seen  everywhere.  They  existed 
on  the  level  lands  in  almost  as  great  numbers  as 
do  the  farm-houses  at  the  present  day.  Scores, 
even  hundreds,  have  been  opened,  and  at  present 
very  few  are  intact. 

It  was  here  that  Squier  and  Davis  carried  on  the 
work  and  collected  the  material  which  they  used  as 
the  foundation  for  their  celebrated  volume  on  the 
aboriginal  remains  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Here 
are  to  be  seen  many  private  collections  of  surface 
specimens  whose  symmetry  and  finish  would  seem  im 
possible  of  attainment  by  the  methods  at  command 
of  a  rude  or  barbarous  people. 

MOUNDS  ON  THE  FAKMS  OF  REDMAN  AND  JANES. 
— Three  miles  from  Chillicothe,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Scioto,  the  drift  deposits  form  three  terraces, 
the  highest  having  an  elevation  of  considerably 
more  than  one  hundred  feet  above  the  river,  resting 
against  a  slope  that  ascends  by  an  easy  grade  to  the 
hills  farther  back. 

Formerly  a  number  of  mounds  and  small  enclo 
sures  were  to  be  found  on  this  slope  and  the  two  ter 
races  next  below  it.  At  the  time  our  work  was 
undertaken  only  five  mounds  remained,  all  of  which 
we  opened. 

The  first  three  were  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Jesse 
Redman,  which  lies  partly  on  the  hillside  and  partly 
on  the  highest  terrace. 


146  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

MOUND  NUMBER  THIRTY-FOUR. — This  was  the 
smallest  of  the  three,  being  only  twenty-five  by 
thirty-eight  feet  and  three  and  a  half  feet  high.  We 
removed  almost  the  entire  mass  of  earth,  finding  one 
fragmentary  skeleton  a  foot  below  the  top,  at  the 
centre.  Immediately  below  it  was  a  small  quantity 
of  ashes.  Nothing  else  was  found. 

MOUND  NUMBER  THIRTY-FIVE. — This  is  five  hun 
dred  feet  northeast  of  the  last.  It  was  very  regular 
in  form,  never  having  been  disturbed  by  cultivation. 

The  height  was  seven  and  a  half  feet,  the  diameter 
at  the  base  fifty-five  feet.  A  trench  twenty  feet 
wide  was  begun  on  the  south  edge,  widened  to 
thirty  feet  at  the  centre,  and  carried  to  within 
fifteen  feet  of  the  opposite  side. 

At  fourteen  feet  from  the  margin,  one  foot  above 
the  base,  were  the  decayed  bones  of  two  skeletons. 

Twenty  feet  in,  and  near  the  east  side  of  our 
trench,  was  a  slight  depression  in  the  original  soil, 
covering  a  space  five  by  six  feet.  It  was  filled  with 
a  deposit  of  ashes,  charcoal,  burnt  bones,  shells,  etc., 
more  than  thirty  entire  mussel  shells  being  taken 
out.  About  three  feet  west  of  this  and  one  foot 
above  the  base  was  a  well  preserved  skeleton  with 
head  to  the  north.  Three  feet  north  of  the  ashes, 
lying  on  the  base,  was  a  number  of  small  pebbles, 
placed  so  as  to  form  a  circle  eight  inches  in  diameter, 
which  had  nothing  else  in  or  near  it.  At  the  same 
level  was  another  skeleton,  near  the  west  side  of  our 
trench,  in  a  fragmentary  condition.  None  of  these 
had  any  objects  buried  with  them.  Lying  among 
the  cervical  vertebrae  of  one  six  feet  east  of  the 


EXCAVATIONS  NEAR   CtflLLICOTHE.  147 

centre,  three  feet  above  the  bottom,  were  forty-two 
copper  beads,  one  mussel  shell,  and  five  snail  shells, 
which  had  at  one  time,  no  doubt,  formed  a  necklace. 


FIG.  xxin. — Ground  plan  of  mound  No.  36,  14  skeletons.     See  page  148. 

The  only  variation  from  the  yellow  clay  of  which 
the  mound  was  built  was  a  stratum,  about  three 
inches  in  thickness,  of  clay  burned  to  a  bright  red. 
It  had  nearly  the  same  curvature  as  the  mound's 
surface,  the  edge  resting  upon  the  general  level  at 
about  ten  feet  from  the  centre  on  every  side. 


148  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

MOUND  NUMBER  THIRTY-SIX. — This,  the  third  of 
the  mounds  on  Mr.  Redman's  place,  is  nearly  south 
from  the  other  two,  and  on  lower  ground.  It  meas 
ured  eight  feet  in  height  and  fifty  feet  across  the 
base.  A  trench  twenty-five  feet  in  width  was  car 
ried  into  it  from  the  south  side. 

A  plan  and  vertical  section  are  presented  (Figs, 
xxm.  and  xxiv.)  which  will  give  a  clear  idea  of  the 
structure  and  its  contents.  The  same  letters  serve 
for  both  drawings,  so  far  as  it  is  necessary  to  use 
them. 

At  a  point  seven  feet  from  the  margin,  on  the 
bottom  of  the  mound,  was  a  small  amount  of  black 
earth  (A),  containing  over  two  hundred  pieces  of 
pottery,  the  fragments  of  vessels  which  were  perfect 
when  deposited,  but  had  afterward  been  crushed  by 
the  weight  of  the  earth  resting  upon  them. 

For  a  space  of  twelve  feet  on  every  side  of  the 
centre  the  earth  had  been  burned  quite  hard,  and  of 
a  bright  red  color,  forming  a  floor  (B  in  the  figures), 
upon  which  rested  the  remains  of  fourteen  adults 
and  one  child  (c  in  Fig.  xxm.,  G  in  Fig.  xxiv.). 
Among  the  bones  of  the  right  hand  and  wrist  of  the 
latter  were  three  shell  beads  and  two  copper  rings, 
only  large  enough  for  a  child's  finger.  The  rings  are 
shown  in  Fig.  xxvi.  They  were  made  by  bending 
a  small  rod  until  the  ends  overlapped,  and  then 
pounding  them  as  closely  together  as  possible. 
Specimens  were  found  near  two  of  the  adult  skele 
tons.  With  the  first  (D)  was  a  tube  of  soft  clayey 
sandstone,  two  celts,  one  of  hematite,  the  other  of 
granite,  and  twelve  flint  knives  and  spear-heads. 


EXCAVATIONS  NEAR    CfflLLICOTHE. 


149 


These  were  all  deposited 
by  the  outer  side  of  the 
right  femur.  Between  the 
femura  of  the  other  skele 
ton  (E),  reaching  from,  the 
pelvic  bones  almost  to  the 
knees,  was  a  fine  celt,  two 
perforated  ornaments,  an 
unfinished  pipe  of  ferrugi 
nous  sandstone,  and  ten 
finely  worked  flint  imple 
ments.  Some  of  these  rel 
ics  are  shown  in  Figs.  xxv. 
and  xxvi.  All  of  the 
skeletons  were  so  decayed 
that  we  could  only  re 
cover  the  skulls  and  a  few 
other  bones  of  three  indi 
viduals. 

The  bodies  had  been  cov 
ered  with  a  layer  of  char 
coal  (F)  fully  a  foot  in 
thickness ;  in  this  were 
pieces  of  a  size  to  show 
that  logs  at  least  six  inches 
through  had  been  burned. 

o 

The  charcoal  was  piled  over 
the  entire  space  included 
by  the  burnt  earth,  and 
had  settled  down  until  the 
bones  were  covered  and 
surrounded  with  it. 


w. 


EXCAVATIONS  NEAR    CHILL1COTHE.  !$! 

The  other  two  mounds  in  this  group  are  on  the 
farm  of  Mr.  Joseph  Janes,  between  Mr.  Redman's 
and  the  river. 

MOUND  NUMBER  THIRTY-SEVEN. — This  is  on  the 
second  terrace,  in  a  field  where  a  great  many  relics 
have  been  gathered  from  the  surface,  and  which  has 
some  indications  of  having  once  been  the  site  of  an 
Indian  village. 

The  mound  is  fifty  by  ninety-five  feet,  the  longer 
axis  nearly  east  and  west.  The  height  is  thirteen 
feet. 

A  trench  thirty-two  feet  in  width,  begun  at  the 
east  end  and  carried  twelve  feet  beyond  the  centre, 
showed  that  it  was  built  of  the  sandy  clay  forming 
the  surrounding  soil.  A  large  depression,  a  hundred 
yards  to  the  north,  holding  water  the  greater  part  of 
the  year,  was  probably  the  source  whence  the  dirt 
composing  it  was  taken.  From  the  size  and  situa 
tion  of  the  mound,  it  had  been  a  matter  of  common 
belief  that  the  excavation  would  result  in  valuable 
discoveries,  but  it  yielded  almost  nothing. 

At  twenty  feet  from  the  margin,  upon  the  bottom 
of  the  mound,  we  came  to  a  stratum,  three  inches 
thick,  of  ashes  and  burnt  bones,  which  extended 
eighteen  feet  in  the  direction  of  our  trench,  and 
reached  beneath  the  walls  at  both  sides.  It  meas 
ured  not  less  than  twenty-five  feet  in  length ;  per 
haps  more.  Some  squirrel  and  bird  bones  were 
found,  but  most  of  the  mass  was  so  broken  and 
burned  that  the  character  of  the  remains  could  not 
be  determined.  A  few  charred  hickory  nuts  were 
also  found. 


152 


EXCAVATIONS  NEAR   CHILLICOTHE.  153 

On  the  bottom,  at  the  centre,  we  found  the  skele 
ton  of  a  child  not  more  than  ten  years  of  age,  with 
its  head  to  the  east.  By  the  neck  were  one  hundred 
and  nineteen  beads,  of  small  marine  shells  perforated 
at  the  apex. 

Six  feet  above  these  remains  was  found  the  par 
tial  skeleton  of  a  man  almost  a  giant  in  size.  It  was 
not  an  intrusive  burial,  for  the  earth  above  was  un 
disturbed.  Neither  had  the  construction  of  the 
mound  ceased  at  this  height  for  any  appreciable 
period,  for  there  was  no  line  of  demarkation  between 
the  earth  above  it  and  that  below,  such  as  would 
result  from  the  growth  of  grass  or  weeds,  had  any 
considerable  time  elapsed.  There  was  no  evidence 
at  any  point  which  indicated  that  the  work  had  not 
been  carried  on  steadily  to  its  completion. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  sketch  made  at  the  time 
(Fig.  xxvn.)  that  the  death  of  this  individual  had  oc 
curred  a  considerable  time  before  the  interment  of 
the  bones  ;  for  not  only  are  many  of  them  absent, 
but  those  present  are  not  in  their  proper  order.  The 
cervical  and  lumbar  vertebrae  are  missing,  as  are 

o? 

some  bones  of  the  hands  and  feet.  The  right  radius 
is  turned  almost  at  a  right  angle  to  the  ulna,  and  the 
right  tibia  is  lying  across  the  left  fibula,  which  is 
itself  several  inches  out  of  the  true  position.  The 
bones  are  unusually  large  and  heavy.  The  breadth 
across  the  shoulders,  with  the  bones  correctly  placed, 
was  nineteen  inches.  The  only  relics  found  with  it 
were  forty  shell  beads  by  the  right  wrist. 

It  seems  scarcely  credible  that  a  mound  of  such 
magnitude  should  be  erected  in  honor  of  a  young 


EXCATATIONS  NEAR   CHILLICOTHE.  155 

child.  This  conclusion  is  forced  upon  us  by  the 
facts  disclosed — that  the  adult's  skeleton  was  not 
placed  here  until  the  structure  was  more  than  half 
finished.  No  other  remains  were  found  that  would 
indicate  additional  burials. 

The  skull  of  a  wolf  was  found  two  feet  above  and 
a  little  south  of  the  larsre  skeleton  referred  to.  Al- 

O 

most  the  entire  framework  of  another  lay  at  a  point 
some  ten  feet  south  of  the  skull. 

MOUND  NUMBER  THIRTY-NINE. — This  is  on  the  up 
per  terrace,  three  hundred  yards  northeast  of  Num 
ber  Thirty-seven.  It  had  been  plowed  over  a  great 
many  times,  reducing  its  height  to  about  six  feet, 
the  diameter  of  the  base  being  seventy  feet. 

The  ground  rises  in  every  direction  from  the 
mound,  except  toward  the  southeast,  consequently 
the  interior  was  very  wet,  and  digging  quite  diffi 
cult — the  earth  clinging  to  the  shovels  so  that  con 
stant  scraping  was  necessary.  For  a  like  reason  the 
bones  we  found  were  in  a  condition  almost  like 
wet  ashes. 

A  twenty-two-foot  trench  was  carried  from  the 
south  side  nearly  through  the  mound.  Near  the  edge 
we  found  a  chalcedony  spear-head,  and  twenty  feet 
farther  in,  a  small  copper  bracelet.  The  presence  of 
both  of  these  was  accidental.  Pieces  of  burnt  sand 
stone  and  bits  of  charcoal  were  scattered  promiscu 
ously  through  the  mound,  and  we  could  easily  detect 
below  it  the  sod  line  forming  the  original  surface. 
The  bracelet  lay  just  at  the  edge  of  a  thin  stratum 
of  burned  clay,  which  had  been  carried  from  some 
outside  point  and  deposited  upon  this  sod.  It  ex- 


EXCAVATIONS  NEAR   CHILLICOTHE,  157 

tended  beyond  our  trench  on  each  side,  but  ran  out 
just  before  we  reached  the  centre. 

We  found  the  badly  decayed  bones  of  two  indi 
viduals,  both  extended  on  the  back,  with  heads  to 
the  east.  The  first  was  on  the  burned  clay,  five  feet 
from  its  southern  edge.  The  head  of  the  second  lay 
over  a  hole  eighteen  inches  deep,  which  had  been 
dii£  in  the  original  soil  at  the  centre  of  the  mound  ; 

O  O  7 

at  the  bottom  of  this  hole  were  some  flakes  of  mica 
and  small  pieces  of  charcoal.  On  the  head  of  the 
second  skeleton  was  a  fine  slate  gorget  (see  Fig. 

XXVIII.) 

At  a  foot  northwest  of  the  centre  was  a  child's 
tooth,  and  close  by  a  small  amount  of  red  ochre. 
No  traces  of  bone  were  discovered.  Three  feet 
north  and  five  feet  west  of  the  centre,  was  a  hole 
three  feet  deep  and  two  feet  in  diameter,  which  con 
tained  pieces  of  human  bones — possibly  it  was  a 
sort  of  vault  in  which  a  folded  body  or  skeleton  had 
been  placed. 

Nothing  else  was  unearthed,  except  some  frag 
ments  of  pottery,  enough  to  form  a  small  vessel, 
which  lay  at  the  edge  of  our  trench,  northwest  of 
the  centre. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

NEAR    SLATE    MILLS,    ROSS    COUNTY. 

FOUR  miles  west  of  Chillicothe,  near  the  station  of 
Slate  Mills  at  the  point  where  the  Cincinnati  Pike 
crosses  the  Ironton  branch  of  the  C.,  H.,  &  D.  Rail 
way,  is  a  group  of  three  small  mounds,  two  of  them 
being  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  W.  D.  Fullerton,  the  other 
on  Mr.  John  Madeira's  land. 

In  one,  at  eight  feet  north  of  the  centre,  was  a 
skeleton,  with  head  northwest,  of  which  only  frag 
ments  remained.  In  the  second  we  found  on  the 
south  side  another  in  the  same  condition ;  also  small 
pieces  of  three  other  skulls. 

Both  of  these  mounds  had  been  dug  out  for  a 
space  of  several  feet  around  the  centre  by  some  pre 
ceding  explorer.  We  were  not  aware  of  this  fact 
until  the  condition  of  the  mounds  made  it  apparent. 
It  was  impossible  to  learn  who  had  opened  them  or 
what  the  results  had  been,  as  the  work  had  ruined 
them  for  our  purpose,  and  we  did  not  proceed  with 
our  investigations  upon  discovering  this  fact. 

MOUND  NUMBER  FORTY-FIVE. — This  is  the  most 
eastern  of  the  three.  A  trench  was  excavated 
through  from  the  east  side  and  disclosed  nothing 
until  we  were  within  six  feet  of  the  centre.  Here 

158 


MOUNDS  NEAR   SLATE   MILLS,  ROSS   COUNTY. 


59 


we  came  upon  a  layer  of  rotten  wood,  near  the  edge 
of  which  we  found  some  portions  of  a  skull,  including 
the  zygomatic  arch  and  mastoid  process,  unaccom 
panied  by  any  other  bones. 

On  following  this  wood,  we  found  that  a  rude 


FIG.  xxix. — Group  of  skeletons  from   mound   No.  45,  with  objects. 
See  page  160. 

enclosure  or  pen,  about  twelve  feet  square,  had 
been  made  with  poles  of  various  lengths,  some 
of  them  only  reaching  to  the  corners,  while  others 
projected  four  or  five  feet  beyond  its  sides.  A  floor 
had  been  formed  within  this  pen  by  layers  of  bark 


160  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

or  split  wood,  on  which  had  been  deposited  five 
bodies.  Over  them  had  been  placed  other  poles 
covered  with  a  roof  similar  to  the  floor,  on  which 
had  been  cast  the  earth  forming  the  mound.  The 
entire  mass  of  wood  had  an  average  thickness  of 
twelve  inches — what  space  may  have  existed  be 
tween  the  floor  and  roof  at  the  time  of  its  construc 
tion  cannot  be  told ;  probably  only  sufficient  to 
allow  room  for  the  bodies.  The  wood  at  the  time 
of  exploration  presented  the  appearance  of  ashes 
having  about  as  much  consistency  as  fine  earth. 

The  positions  of  the  skeletons,  with  accompany 
ing  objects,  are  shown  in  Fig.  xxix.  All  were 
extended  at  full  length,  and  all  were  on  the  back 
except  one. 

The  first  uncovered  was  that  of  a  young  person, 
marked  A,  with  feet  to  the  southwest.  Among  the 
bones  of  the  head,  as  though  they  they  had  been 
laid  on  the  forehead,  were  thirty  small  shell  beads. 

The  second  body,  B,  had  been  laid  on  its  left  side, 
with  its  feet  almost  at  the  exact  centre  of  the  mound, 
and  head  toward  the  northwest.  The  bones  of  the 
feet  were  lying  upon  the  left  side  of  the  child's  head, 
the  top  of  which  was  in  contact  with  the  tibiae  of 
the  adult.  No  objects  were  found  with  this  body. 

The  third  was  an  adult  (c),  whose  feet  rested 
against  the  hips  of  the  second,  its  head  being  toward 
the  northeast.  Near  its  right  thigh  lay  a  disk  of 
yellow  ochre,  D,  one  side  of  which  had  been  rubbed 
off,  probably  for  use  as  paint.  Under  the  back 
was  a  mass  of  burnt  and  broken  bones  in  soft  black 
earth,  perhaps  the  remains  of  food  deposited  with 
the  body.  Near  the  left  hand  was  a  broken  arrow- 


MOUNDS  NEAR   SLATE  MILLS,  ROSS   COUNTY.       l6l 

head,  E,  a  fine  hematite  cone,  F,  and  a  point  of  deer 
antler,  G,  about  six  inches  long. 

With  the  bones  of  the  middle  portion  of  this 
skeleton  were  intermingled  those  of  an  infant  (j). 
On  the  forehead  of  the  child  had  been  placed  several 
pieces  of  mica  (i),  cut  in  the  form  of  a  half -crescent, 
with  smooth  edges  and  rounded  points.  Each  plate 
had  several  small  holes  punched  in  it.  A  number 
of  beads,  some  of  them  copper,  others  of  small 
marine  shells,  the  remainder  perforated  disks  made 
of  mussel  shells,  were  scattered  about  the  necks  of 
the  two,  but  the  bones  were  in  such  confusion  that 
we  could  not  say  what  portion  of  them  belonged  to 
each.  A  small  copper  bracelet  was  on  the  left 
wrist.  It  is  mai'ked  K. 

The  fifth  skeleton  was  that  of  a  child  (H),  with 
its  head  near  the  waist  of  the  last  adult,  and  feet  to 
the  southwest.  On  its  forehead  was  a  single  plate  of 
mica  like  those  above  described,  but  much  thicker, 
and  long  enough  to  reach  down  over  each  temporal 
bone.  About  the  neck  were  one  hundred  and  six 
beads  of  small  sea-shells. 

The  relics  of  this  mound  are  shown  in  Figure  xxx. 

Mounds  on  the  Worthington  Estate. 

Our  next  field  of  operation  was  in  the  Scioto 
bottoms,  northwest  ofthe  city. 

Most  of  the  mounds  in  this  direction  have  been 
opened.  There  are  a  few  which,  partly  on  account 
of  their  large  size  and  the  consequent  expense  of 
careful  investigation,  and  partly  owing  to  the  reluc 
tance  of  their  owners  to  have  them  disturbed,  have 
remained  untouched. 


1 62  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

The  largest  and  best  preserved  are  on  the  estate 
of  Thomas  Worthington,  one  of  the  early  governors 
of  Ohio.  His  heirs,  respecting  his  wishes,  have 
never  allowed  them  to  be  injured  in  any  way. 

A  portion  of  the  estate,  however,  on  which  four 
of  them  stood,  had  recently  passed  into  other  hands, 
and  the  new  owners  gave  us  permission  to  excavate 
them. 

The  four  form  a  connected  group,  being  built  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  adjacent  edges  unite  several 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  ground,  in  the  same 
manner  as  those  noticed  in  the  description  of  Num 
ber  Thirty -eight.  Figure  57,  page  170,  of  An 
cient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  giving  a 
view  from  above  downwards,  will  show  their  pe 
culiar  arrangement.  They  are  numbered  in  the  order 
of  their  exploration. 

MOUND  NUMBER  FORTY. — This  is  the  second  in 
size,  and  stands  at  the  southwest  extremity  of  the 
group.  The  diameter  at  the  base  from  north  to 
south  is  about  sixty -five  feet,  and  the  height  thirteen 
feet,  making  the  sides  quite  steep. 

A  trench  thirty-three  feet  in  width  was  begun  at 
the  southwest  side,  and  widened  somewhat  toward 
the  centre.  At  first  the  earth  was  dry  and  loose,  but 
a  few  feet  farther  in  became  wet,  and  soon  was  so  soft 
and  sticky  that  the  workmen  sank  half-way  to  their 
knees,  and  found  it  impossible  to  shake  the  mud 
from  their  shovels.  We  were  compelled  to  engage 
a  team  and  scraper  to  remove  this  mire,  which  would 
ooze  out  from  the  sides  of  the  trench  and  flow  slowly 
down  the  track  left  by  the  scraper.  The  whole  up- 


164  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN   OHIO. 

per  portion  of  the  mound,  to  a  depth  of  four  feet  at 
the  summit,  was  in  this  condition,  giving  rise  to 
many  speculations  as  to  its  cause. 

When  we  succeeded  in  getting  it  out  of  the  way, 
the  reason  was  apparent.  In  erecting  the  mound 
the  builders  had  carried  it  up  to  a  height  of  nine 
feet  with  a  very  fine  dark  sand  which  had  become 
so  compact  as  almost  to  equal  mortar  in  hardness. 
This  was  impervious  to  water.  The  rain  and  snow 
melting  and  soaking  into  the  ground  was  checked  by 
it  as  by  a  floor.  Coming  from  above  more  rapidly 
than  it  could  escape  along  the  surface  of  the  sand 
core  through  the  overlying  clay  produced  the  mud. 

When  we  finally  reached  the  original  level,  we 
found  under  the  central  portion  of  the  mound  a 
floor  of  bark  or  split  wood  on  which  had  been  built 
a  rectangular  enclosure  of  small  logs.  This  had  an 
inside  measurement  of  seven  by  eleven  feet,  being 
longest  from  north  to  south.  In  it  were  the  remains 
of  a  single  individual,  with  head  toward  the  north. 
It  was  evident  that  the  skeleton  had  been  buried 
after  the  flesh  had  been  removed  from  his  bones,  as 
the  lower  jaw  and  bones  of  the  hands  wrere  covered 
with  a  coating  of  red  ochre  of  uniform  thickness, 
while  the  surrounding  earth,  except  that  immediately 
in  contact  with  the  bones  in  question,  showred  no 
traces  of  the  coloring  matter.  This  could  not  have 
been  the  case  had  the  flesh  not  been  removed  before 
burial.  Why  no  other  bones  had  been  colored  is,  of 
course,  impossible  for  us  to  explain.  Over  this 
vault  had  been  placed  another  layer  of  wood  or 
bark,  and  the  whole  thing  then  covered  with  sand. 


MOUNDS  NEAR   SLATE  MILLS,  ROSS   COUNTY.       165 

The  pen  was  about  eighteen  inches  high,  the  logs 
forming  it  being  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter,  and 
extending  out  for  two  or  three  feet  at  the  corners. 

o 

The  floor  and  covering  were  each  about  three  inches 
thick.  Of  this  only  a  soft,  ashy  mass  remained.  It 
could  not  be  determined  whether  the  material  was 
bark,  or  split  wood,  like  puncheons.  Enough  of  the 
logs  remained,  in  places,  to  show  that  they  were  of 
some  soft  wood  like  poplar  or  willow. 

Nothing  whatever  had  been  buried  with  the  skele 
ton. 

MOUND  NUMBER  FORTY-ONE. — This  lies  at  the  east 
ern  end  of  the  group,  and  is  the  smallest  of  the  four, 
being  fifty  feet  in  diameter  and  seven  feet  high.  It 
had  been  opened  by  Squier  and  Davis  in  their  cus 
tomary  manner — by  sinking  a  shaft  from  the  summit 
to  the  base. 

While  it  is  not  the  intent  of  the  writer  to  offer  any 
criticisms  on  the  work  done  by  others,  it  may  not  be 
out  of  place  here  to  reproduce  what  the  authors 
mentioned  have  to  say  about  this  group,  and  allow 
the  reader  to  see  wherein  their  work  was  deficient. 

Figure  57  in  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Valley,  page  170,  represents  the  group  as  it 
appeared  in  1845. 

While  the  depressions  between  the  mounds,  along 
the  line  #5,  are  much  greater  as  shown  here,  than  they 
were  when  our  work  was  begun,  it  is  probable  that 
the  measurements  taken  at  the  time  this  sketch  was 
made  are  correct.  The  mound  A  (our  Number  For 
ty),  however,  is  made  too  far  toward  the  south  as 
regards  its  position  relative  to  g  (our  Number  Forty- 


1 66 


PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 


three).     The  authors  inform  us  (page  171)  that  this 
group- 

"  •  •  •  occurs  upon  the  plain  in  the  immediate  vi 
cinity  of  Chillicothe,  and  is  numbered  4  on  the  map  of  a 
section  of  the  Scioto  Valley,  Plate  II.  The  small  one 
indicated  by  the  letter  j  was  excavated,  and  found  to 
contain  the  skeleton  of  a  girl  enveloped  in  bark,  in  the 
manner  already  described.  The  largest  of  the  group  is 
about  thirty  feet  in  height." 


FIG.  xxxi. — Peculiar  construction  of  mound  No.  43.  A.  Clay  con 
stituting  the  upper  portion  of  the  tumulus.  F.  Gravel  and  small 
stones.  H.  Sand  and  fine  gravel  patches  strangely  intermingled. 
D.  Charcoal  layer  coming  up  from  below,  c.  White  ashes.  E.  Burnt 
earth  on  base  line.  H.  Variations  of  charcoal  and  burnt  earth. 

The  statement  in  the  last  sentence  in  regard  to  the 
height  of  the  largest  is  one  half  in  excess  of  the  true 

o  O 

measurement.     The  mound  j  in  their  description  is 
the  one  we  have  numbered  Forty-one. 


MOUNDS  NEAR   SLATE   MILLS,  ROSS   COUNTY,       l6/ 

The  skeleton  they  exhumed  was  not  "  enveloped 
in  bark  "  but  placed  between  two  layers  of  split  wood. 
The  explorers  had  done  their  work  in  such  a  way 
that  the  feet  and  skull  of  the  skeleton  had  not  been 
touched,  although  they  had  disturbed  all  the  other 
bones,  even  taking  away  the  lower  jaw.  The  Wood 
extended  several  feet  beyond  their  line  of  excavation 
on  every  side,  and  retained  its  texture  to  a  degree 
that  admitted  of  no  doubt  on  the  subject.  An  old 
man,  who,  by  a  lifetime  of  work  in  timber,  was  quali 
fied  to  judge,  said  that  he  could  distinguish  beech, 
sycamore,  and  black  walnut  among  the  fragments. 

The  head  lay  to  the  southwest ;  and  not  more  than 
a  foot  to  the  west  of  it  was  the  skull  of  another 
skeleton  which  had  been  placed  parallel  to  the  first, 
and  which  the  former  explorers  had  not  discovered, 
as  their  shaft  was  not  extended  far  enough  to  reach 

o 

it.  The  bones  of  this  were  so  soft  that  they  would 
not  hold  together  when  the  contiguous  earth  was 
removed. 

MOUND  NUMBER  FORTY-TWO. — This  is  between  the 
largest  mound  and  the  one  last  described.  Its  height 
is  thirteen  feet.  In  construction  it  resembled  Number 
Forty — a  core  of  very  fine  sand  seven  feet  in  height 
covered  by  six  feet  of  soft,  muddy  clay.  This  being 
removed  by  scraper,  we  ran  a  trench  fourteen  feet 
wide  through  the  mound  from  north  to  south. 

o 

In  a  little  pocket  at  the  bottom  near  the  centre  of 
the  mound,  we  found  a  small  animal  bone,  four  mus 
sel  shells,  a  few  flakes  of  charcoal,  and  about  a  pint 
of  ashes. 

There  was  nothing  else  in  the  entire  mound,  to 
repay  us  for  more  than  a  week  of  steady  work. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

MOUND     NUMBER    FORTY-THREE. 

THE  altitude  of  this,  the  largest  mound  in  the 
group,  was  twenty  feet  above  the  general  level  of 
the  ground  around  it,  except  that  on  the  side 
toward  the  south.  Here  much  of  the  earth  com 
posing  the  four  had  been  gathered,  thereby  lowering 
the  surface  from  two  to  three  feet  over  a  consider 
able  area. 

A  few  rods  north  of  the  group  is  a  hole  fifty  or 
sixty  feet  across,  and  now  about  four  feet  deep, 
which  may  be  the  place  whence  was  obtained  the 
fine  sand,  or  at  least  a  part  of  it,  that  formed  the 
core  in  all  but  Number  Forty-one  ;  such  sand  is  found 
near  by,  at  a  depth  of  about  two  feet. 

Owing  to  the  height  of  this  mound  and  the  loose 
ness  of  the  earth  composing  the  upper  portion,  we 
deemed  it  best  not  to  run  a  trench  from  side  to  side, 
as  in  the  others.  The  risk  of  injury  from  possible 
caving  in  of  the  walls  was  great,  and  besides,  if  we 
should  come  upon  any  deposits  occupying  a  large 
space,  the  difficulty  of  uncovering  them  properly 
would  be  greatly  increased  by  the  amount  of  mate 
rial  above.  Consequently  after  marking  out  a  line 
on  the  surface  to  include  all  that  portion  which  we 

168 


MOUND   NUMBER   FORTY-THREE.  169 

considered  it  necessary  to  excavate,  work  was  begun 
on  the  slope  at  a  point  half-way  between  the  sum 
mit  and  the  base,  the  earth  above  this  level  having 
been  hauled  away  that  it  might  not  interfere  with 
subsequent  operations. 

Near  the  centre,  four  feet  from  the  top,  were  a 
few  decayed  bones,  among  which  were  thirty-three 
discoidal  shell  beads ;  these  belonged  to  an  intrusive 
burial. 

Ten  feet  to  the  northwest  of  this  deposit  we  found 
twenty-six  copper  beads  lying  close  together  at  the 
bottom  of  a  hole,  three  and  a  half  feet  deep,  that  had 
been  dug  at  some  time  after  the  completion  of  the 
mound  and  refilled.  The  line  between  the  undis 
turbed  earth  and  that  thrown  back  was  quite  plain. 
No  trace  of  bone  was  found,  nor  was  the  hole  large 
enough  to  contain  a  human  body  unless  the  skeleton 
alone  had  been  packed  into  a  small  bundle  and 
buried. 

Just  west  of  the  centre,  over  a  space  ten  feet 
across,  and  with  a  vertical  range  of  two  feet,  were 
twenty-five  copper  beads  (see  beads  in  Fig.  xxx.) 
that  seemed  to  have  been  gathered  up  from  the 
earth  and  thrown  in  without  any  knowledge  of  their 
presence,  as  they  were  scattered  at  random  in  the 
space  indicated.  Unlike  those  found  in  the  hole, 
which  were  of  nearly  uniform  size,  they  varied  con 
siderably,  some  being  more  than  twice  as  large  as 
others.  Among  them  was  one  which  had  corroded 
in  such  a  way  as  to  show  how  it  was  made.  A  thin, 
flat  piece  of  metal,  with  parallel  edges,  had  the  ends 
brought  to  a  bevel  on  the  opposite  sides,  and  was 


I/O  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

then  bent  around  a  cord  or  thong  of  leather  until  the 
ends  overlapped,  after  which  they  were  beaten 
closely  together.  Probably  this  was  the  method 
used  in  making  all  the  heavier  beads. 

o 

Another  deposit  of  the  same  character,  containing 
eighty-four  large  beads,  was  found  about  fifteen  feet 
north  of  the  centre,  at  a  depth  of  four  feet.  Like 
the  first  lot,  these  lay  at  the  lower  part  of  a  mass  of 
disturbed  earth.  Instead  of  there  being  a  small  hole 
as  in  that  case,  the  earth  for  a  distance  of  seven  or 
eight  feet  around  the  deposit  seemed  to  have  been 
upturned.  No  trace  of  human  remains  was  found, 
except  one  tooth  that  lay  under  the  beads,  and,  from 
contact  with  them,  was  almost  as  green  as  the  cop 
per  itself.  It  would  appear  that  the  beads,  except 
the  scattered  ones,  must  have  been  buried  here  for 
concealment.  Had  they  been  placed  with  persons 
interred  at  the  spots  where  they  were  found,  such 
portions  of  the  bones  as  they  may  have  rested  upon 
would  certainly  have  been  preserved  by  them. 

At  a  depth  of  eight  feet  below  the  summit  we 
found  sand  similar  to  that  in  the  other  mounds.  We 
disturbed  this  as  little  as  possible,  the  workmen 
removing  the  overlying  clay  along  its  slope,  thus 
leaving  our  terrace  or  fioor  about  two  feet  higher  at 
the  centre  than  at  the  margin.  On  the  north  side, 
near  the  centre,  just  below  the  surface  of  the  sand, 
we  found  at  intervals  of  a  few  inches  what  seemed 
to  be  the  remains  of  short  boards,  about  eight  inches 
wide  and  four  to  five  feet  long.  The  ends  were  on 
nearly  the  same  level,  but  the  edge  of  each  was 
raised  so  as  to  give  the  face  an  angle  of  about  forty- 


S  h  -S 


172  PRIMITIVE   MAN1  IN  OHIO. 

five  degrees.  Were  it  not  for  this  we  might  suppose 
them  to  have  been  found  unnecessary  for  some  pur 
pose  for  which  they  were  brought  here,  and  thrown 
aside.  The  apparent  care  taken  to  place  them  at 
equal  distances  apart  and  at  the  same  angle,  would 
tend  to  show  there  was  some  design  in  so  arranging 
them,  though  nothing  whatever  could  be  discovered 
to  indicate  what  this  may  have  been. 

At  the  same  distance  below  the  summit,  and  seven 
feet  north  of  the  centre,  was  a  layer  of  peculiar  sub 
stance,  the  nature  of  which  cannot  be  determined  by 
any  one  who  has  seen  it.  It  has  a  greasy  feel,  and 
is  about  the  consistency  of  wet  clay.  In  some  parts 
it  is  a  bright  yellow,  while  other  portions  are  of  a 
dull  green.  It  covered  a  space  of  three  by  five  feet, 
with  a  very  irregular  outline,  was  nowhere  more 
than  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  the  margin  was  four  to 
five  inches  higher  than  the  central  portion.  It  was 
surrounded  by  the  clay  composing  the  upper  portion 
of  the  mound,  the  lowest  part  being  a  few  inches 
above  the  level  of  the  sand  at  this  point. 

This  constituted  the  sum  of  our  finds  in  the  upper 
half  of  the  mound,  and  we  proceeded  to  an  examina 
tion  of  the  lower  portion. 

The  trench  in  Number  Forty-two  had  been  carried 
through  on  a  level  slightly  below  the  base,  and  its 
western  wall  made  a  good  starting-point  from  which 
to  work  the  larger  mound.  We  began  a  trench 
with  a  width  of  sixteen  feet,  which  we  carried  to  a 
distance  of  fifty  feet  toward  the  northwest,  widen 
ing  it  to  twenty-five  feet  at  the  centre. 

Almost  at  the  beginning,  we  found  on  the  north- 


MOUND  NUMBER   FORTY-THREE.  173 

era  side  a  layer  of  charcoal  and  burnt  earth,  the 
whole  varying  from  an  inch  to  three  inches  in  thick 
ness.  This  was  not  horizontal,  being  in  some  places 
a  foot  higher  than  in  others,  and  nowhere  less  than 
a  foot  above  the  original  surface.  It  seemed  as  if  a 

o 

low,  flat  mound  or  platform  had  stood  there,  upon 
which  fires  had  been  made,  before  the  erection  of 
the  mound  proper  was  undertaken.  Between  the 
charcoal  and  the  clayey  soil,  forming  the  upper  por 
tion  of  the  mound,  lay  several  feet  of  the  sand  com 
posing  the  lower  part. 

Finding  the  thickness  of  the  mass  before  us  too 
great  for  working  conveniently,  we  divided  it  into 
two  benches,  each  five  feet  in  thickness,  by  removing 
the  upper  one  entirely  before  disturbing  that  which 
formed  the  base. 

At  five  feet  from  the  beginning  of  our  trench, 
and  three  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  mound,  was 
a  lens-shaped  mass  of  fine,  black  earth,  about  as 
much  as  a  man  could  easily  carry,  and  quite  notice 
able  in  the  close  yellow  dirt  surrounding  it.  In 
this  earth — apparently  a  single  basketful  carelessly 
thrown  here — were  several  fragments  of  bone,  and 
twenty  teeth  of  a  child,  eight  or  ten  years  of  age, 
all  strongly  colored  as  if  from  contact  with  copper. 
Careful  search  failed  to  reveal  a  particle  of  the 
metal.  Only  the  caps  remained  of  most  of  the 
teeth.  The  coloring  was  as  marked  on  the  interior 

O 

of  these  as  on  the  outer  surface. 

Nothing  further  was  found  until  we  had  gone 
about  fifteen  feet  beyond  the  point  at  which  the 
green  teeth  had  been  found.  Here  the  stratum  of 


1/4  PRIMITIVE   MAN-  IN 

charcoal  before  mentioned  ascended  into  the  upper 
bench  and  continued  to  the  end.  As  the  work  pro 
gressed  we  found  remains  of  logs,  some  of  them 
nearly  a  foot  across,  while  those  with  a  diameter 
from  four  to  eight  inches  were  abundant.  There 
were  also  a  great  number  of  small  poles,  or  saplings, 
and  a  considerable  amount  of  swamp-grass  and 
weeds.  The  grain  of  the  wood  was  preserved  to  a 
remarkable  degree ;  so  much  so  that  we  could 
readily  recognize  among  it  black  and  white  walnut, 
dogwood,  elm,  hickory,  ash,  maple,  red  and  white 
oak,  red  bud,  honey-locust,  chestnut,  and  basswood. 

As  we  found  later,  this  stratum  covered  a  space 
of  fifty  feet  across,  and  in  some  places  was  fully 
three  feet  thick.  In  it  were  many  logs  and  branches 
that  had  been  cut  off  with  stone  axes,  the  marks 
being  quite  distinct.  "We  secured  a  number  of  these 
logs,  including  two  that  measured  eight  inches  in 
thickness.  They  are  shown  in  Figure  xxxm. 

Before  reaching  this  charcoal,  the  bottom  of  the 
upper  bench  had  passed  out  of  the  clay  and  into  the 
sand  core.  On  approaching  the  centre,  the  clay 
reappeared  below  its  proper  place,  and  the  sand  and 
charcoal  were  mingled  in  confusion.  This  was  due 
to  a  fact  which,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  had  never 
been  observed  in  any  other  mound.  Intrusive 
burials  of  modern  Indians,  made  by  digging  a  hole 
.into  the  top  of  the  mound,  are  not  uncommon  ;  but 
here  w^as  a  clear  case  of  intrusive  burial  by  the 
original  builders  themselves.1  After  the  sand  had 

1  Professor  Thomas  Wilson,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  Dr. 
Cresson  remarked  two  periods  of  construction  in  the  large  mound  upon  Mr. 
Hopewell's  farm,  Anderson,  Ross  Co.,  Ohio.  See  pages  186  el  scq.  for  full 
description. — \V.  K.  M. 


1/  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

been  piled  up,  it  was  left  undisturbed  for  several 
years,  as  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  we  found  on  its 
top  impressions  left  by  the  stumps  of  saplings,  some 
of  them  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter,  the  holes 
left  by  the  roots  being  in  some  cases  easily  traceable 
by  means  of  the  darker  color.  As  there  was  no 
trace  of  the  trunks  in  the  dirt  above,  these  must 
have  been  broken  or  cut  off. 

A  large  hole  had  been  dug  into  the  top,  the 
material  removed  being  thrown  in  three  or  four 
piles  on  different  sides.  It  was  evidently  one  of 
these  piles  to  which  we  had  come  in  hauling  away 
the  clay  from  the  upper  part  of  the  mound. 

The  hole  had  been  carried  fully  six  feet  down,  and 
reached  a  foot  into  the  charcoal  stratum.  The  sides 
sloped  so  as  to  give  it  somewhat  the  shape  of  an  in 
verted  cone.  In  order  to  make  a  level  space  within  this, 
several  logs,  some  of  them  more  than  a  foot  in  diameter, 
had  been  laid  with  the  ends  resting  on  the  sides  of  the 
slope.  These  logs  were  of  white  oak  and  so  was  all 
the  other  timber,  its  fibres  being  distinct  enough  for 
its  kind  to  be  determined.  Wood  or  bark  was 
placed  on  them  to  form  a  floor,  on  which  lay  three 
skeletons,  side  by  side,  with  the  heads  toward  the 
south. 

By  the  head  of  the  first  was  a  small  stone  tube, 
and  beneath  its  lower  jaw  299  large  beads  made 
from  a  conch  or  similar  shell.  There  was  nothing 
with  the  second,  but  with  the  third  were  two 
arrow-heads  and  2,542  beads, — some  of  small  entire 
sea-shells,  others  cut  from  mussel  shell. 

More  wood,  or  bark,  had  been  placed  over  them, 


MOUND  NUMBER  FORTY-THREE.  IJJ 

on  which  a  small  amount  of  sand  was  thrown.  To 
the  west,  at  a  little  higher  level,  were  found  three 
other  skeletons  lying  on  a  platform  or  shelf  cut  out 
on  the  side  of  the  depression.  It  may  have  been 
the  sand  removed  here  that  was  thrown  on  those 
first  found.  Nothing  was  placed  with  the  last 
bodies,  and  the  bones  of  all  six  were  so  badly 
decayed  that  none  of  them  could  be  saved. 

After  this  burial  the  mound  was  built  to  the 
height  which  we  found  it,  with  the  soil  lying  about 
its  base.  It  is  possible  that  up  to  this  period  there 
had  been  only  three  small  sand  mounds  with  con 
joined  bases,  all  of  which  were  covered  with  earth 
at  the  same  time.  The  smaller  one  to  the  east  was 
probably  constructed  when  these  .additions  were 
made. 

Nothing  further  was  found  in  this  bench,  and  our 
workmen  now  began  the  removal  of  the  lower  one. 
In  doing  this  we  kept  well  below  the  original  sur 
face  of  the  ground,  in  order  that  any  excavation 
which  may  have  been  made  prior  to  the  erection  of 
the  mound  mi^ht  not  be  overlooked. 

o 

The  charcoal  stratum  increased  in  thickness,  the 
surface  rising  gradually  until,  as  stated  above,  it 
came  into  the  upper  bench.  Altogether  we  threw 
out  not  less  than  one  hundred  bushels  of  it.  Nothing 
else  worthy  of  note  was  discovered,  until  we  had 
nearly  reached  the  centre,  where,  on  the  north  side 
of  the  trench,  were  five  holes  in  a  north  and  south 
line,  two  feet  apart,  from  twelve  to  sixteen  inches 
across,  and  reaching  well  down  into  the  sand,  which 
is  found  under  the  soil  at  a  depth  of  two  to  three 


17 o  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

feet.  Four  feet  south  of  the  most  southern  of  these, 
were  found  three  of  the  same  character,  in  an  east 
and  west  line.  All  were  filled  with  loose  earth,  and 
the  sand  which  had  been  taken  from  the  bottom  was 
spread  out  in  a  smooth,  even  layer  above  them. 
They  contained  no  trace  of  wood  or  anything  else 
to  indicate  the  purpose  for  which  they  had  been  dug. 

On  coming  to  the  central  part  of  the  mound,  we 
found  a  skeleton  on  the  charcoal  just  beneath  the 
logs  on  which  had  rested  the  remains  due  to  intru 
sive  burials.  Whether  this  had  been  deposited  at 
the  same  time  as  those  above  it,  or  placed  here  when 
the  sand  mound  was  first  built,  we  cannot  tell. 
Fifty  large  discoidal  shell  beads  lay  by  the  cranium 
of  the  skeleton. 

A  few  inches  lower  than  this  skeleton,  and  imme 
diately  under  it,  was  a  very  peculiar  deposit.  Ex 
tending  east  and  west  was  a  mass  five  feet  long, 
from  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  wide,  having  an  ellip 
tical  section  four  inches  thick  at  the  middle.  This 
was  composed  almost  entirely  of  small  fragments  of 
human  bones.  They  had  been  burned  until  almost 
entirely  destroyed,  and  were  mingled  in  utter  con 
fusion  as  though  hastily  gathered  up  from  the  place 
of  cremation.  We  secured  a  few  of  the  pieces, 
enough  to  learn  that  some  belonged  to  the  frame  of 
an  adult,  while  others  were  from  the  remains  of  a 
child  not  more  than  half  grown.  Scattered  here 
and  there  among  them  were  over  thirty  drilled  shell 
beads,  none  less  than  three  fourths  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  but  all  so  injured  by  the  heat  that  they 
crumbled  in  a  few  moments.  One  showed  that  in 


MOUND   NUMBER  FORTY-THREE.  1/9 

the  process  of  perforating  the  maker  had  allowed 
his  drill  to  work  too  far  to  one  side  of  the  centre 
line.  Another  trial  sent  it  as  far  toward  the  other 
side.  Reversing  the  bead,  he  began  at  the  other  end 
a  hole  twice  the  size  of  those  first  attempted,  and 
this  time  was  successful  in  his  efforts. 

The  most  curious  object  found  among  these  cal 
cined  remains  was  about  one  half  of  the  top  of  a 
human  skull,  bearing  no  traces  of  fire  such  as  marked 
everything  else  in  the  deposit.  It  had  evidently 
been  used  as  a  cup  or  vessel  before  being  broken. 
All  the  thicker  portions  of  the  bone  had  been  cut 
away,  and  the  edge  thus  left  carefully  trimmed, 
leaving  a  smooth  rim  entirely  around  it. 

These  remains  were  in  a  mass  of  charcoal  at  a 
place  where  much  earth  was  mingled  with  it, 
and  had  been  carried  in  from  the  outside.  The 
manner  in  which  they  were  placed  shows  they  could 
not  have  been  burned  here.  The  piece  of  skull 
alluded  to  had  been  thrown  upon  them  after  they 
were  deposited. 

Just  north  of  the  centre,  on  the  original  surface, 
the  earth  in  a  space  of  four  by  six  feet  was  burned 
until  to  a  depth  of  six  inches  it  was  as  hard  as  a 
brick.  Over  this  lay  a  mass  of  white  ashes  measur 
ing  nine  feet  east  and  west,  and  twelve  feet  north 
and  south,  five  inches  deep  where  thickest,  and  run 
ning  out  to  an  edge  on  every  side.  The  northern 
margin  of  the  burnt  earth  reached  to  a  trench  that 
had  been  dug  after  the  fire  had  died  down.  The 
layer  of  ashes  extended  to  the  trench,  was  broken 
for  the  space  this  occupied,  and  then  continued  for 


l8o  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

two  or  three  feet  beyond  it,  while  the  sand  that 
came  from  the  bottom  of  the  trench  was  thrown  on 
top  of  the  ashes  on  either  side. 

For  more  than  a  foot  above  the  surface  decayed 
wood,  charcoal,  and  earth  were  intermingled,  and  on 
this  mass  rested  two  rows  of  loss  crossing;  each 

o  o 

other  at  a  right  angle.  The  trench  below  made  a 
sharp  turn,  both  it  and  the  logs  running  into  the 
earth  on  the  north  wall  of  our  excavation.  To  de 
termine  their  character  and  extent,  it  was  necessary 
to  make  a  side  cut  fifteen  feet  in  width  and  carry  it 
sixteen  feet  toward  the  north,  removing  the  over 
lying  earth  that  extended  to  a  height  of  thirteen  feet 
above  the  logs. 

When  this  was  done,  we  found  that  a  hut  or  pen 
ten  feet  wide  and  twelve  feet  long,  made  from  logs 
of  six  to  eleven  inches  in  diameter,  had  been  built 
up  by  crossing  the  logs  at  the  corners  in  the  ordi 
nary  way.  All  were  now  converted  into  charcoal, 
and  had  settled  down  until  each  side  of  the  pen 
formed  a  compact  mass  about  three  feet  in  breadth 
and  thickness,  so  that  it  must  in  the  first  place  have 
been  not  less  than  seven  or  eight  feet  in  height. 

After  clearing  away  this  charcoal,  and  the  con 
fused  mass  below  it,  we  came  to  the  trench  and 
found  it  to  extend  around  a  rectangular  area  twelve 
by  sixteen  feet,  with  slightly  rounded  corners.  It 
was  quite  narrow,  nowhere  more  than  twelve  inches 
across,  though  reaching  down  into  the  sand  sub 
stratum,  and  contained  a  row  of  posts  or  logs,  in  the 
form  of  a  stockade.  They  were  set  as  closely  to 
gether  as  possible,  no  gap  being  left  for  entrance  or 


MOUND   NUMBER   FORTY-THREE.  l8l 

exit.  In  some  places  several  in  succession  had  been 
in  contact,  so  that  no  earth  had  settled  between 
them,  while  occasionally  there  was  a  space  of  three 
or  four  inches  filled  with  soil  as  compact  as  that  on 
either  side  of  the  trench. 

The  marks  left  by  the  tools  used  in  digging  were 
still  very  plain  in  the  earth  on  the  sides,  some  of  them 
being  vertical  as  though  made  by  a  spud,  others  hori 
zontal  as  if  the  instrument  had  been  used  in  the 
fashion  of  a  pick ;  they  were  evidently  made  with 
an  antler  or  sharpened  stick.  We  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  discover  one  of  the  tools.  It  is  a  piece  of  wood 
five  inches  long,  one  end  sharpened,  the  other  broken 
with  a  ragged  fracture,  the  user  apparently  having 
put  too  much  strain  on  it  in  prying.  It  is  shown  in 
Figure  xxxm.,  although  the  striations  caused  by  its 
use,  which  are  very  distinct  in  the  specimen  itself, 
are  not  well  shown.  In  the  same  figure  some  pieces 
of  logs  that  have  been  cut  with  stone  axes  may  be 
seen. 

The  depths  to  which  the  posts  extended  varied 
from  eighteen  to  thirty  inches.  Some  of  them  rested 
upon  gravelly  sand  and  clay;  others,  more  than  half 
the  entire  number,  reached  into  the  underlying  sand. 
The  remainder  were  set  upon  small  deposits  of  what 
seemed  to  be  a  mixture  of  mud,  sand,  and  ashes,  put 
into  the  bottom  while  wet,  and  in  some  places  bear 
ing  on  the  upper  surface  the  imprint  of  the  end  of 
the  post  which  it  had  supported.  The  mixture  was 
almost  as  hard  as  stone  ;  pieces  an  inch  thick  could 
scarcely  be  cut  through  with  the  spades.  The  posts 
were  cut  or  burned  off  at  the  top,  none  of  them,  ex- 


1 82  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN   OHIO. 

cept  one,  reaching  more  than  eighteen  inches  above 
the  surface.  In  some  of  the  holes  only  traces  of  de 
cayed  wood  remained,  while  in  others  was  a  little 
mass  of  charcoal.  In  some  instances  the  charred 
posts  retained  their  original  form. 

At  the  corner  farthest  from  the  observer  may  be 
seen  a  post  which  extends  upwards  four  feet.  The 
part  of  this  above  the  surface  had  only  about  half 
the  thickness  of  the  portion  remaining  in  the  trench, 
while  the  manner  in  which  the  top  is  burnt  shows 
that  it  was  once  higher  than  now. 

All  through  the  mound,  from  the  base  to  within 
five  feet  of  the  top,  and  from  the  centre  for  twenty 
feet  out,  were  masses  of  earth  from  a  shovelful  to 
several  cubic  yards  in  size.  There  was  every  shade 
of  yellow  and  red,  according  to  the  burning  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected.  The  white,  brown,  and 
yellow  of  the  decayed  wood,  the  black  of  the  char 
coal,  and  the  varying  natural  colors  of  the  earth 
gathered  from  different  places,  gave  a  diversified 
appearance  that  was  quite  novel,  and  some  of  the 
combinations  were  very  pleasing. 

A  part  of  the  last  week's  work  here  was  a  severe 
trial  to  our  patience  and  endurance.  We  were  in  a 
pit,  with  wralls  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  high  all  around 
us,  so  that  the  air  was  always  still.  The  sun  shone 
in  for  several  hours  during  the  hottest  portion  of  the 
day,  and  the  ashes,  fine  sand,  decayed  wood,  and 
pulverized  charcoal  arose  in  clouds  that  w^ould  some 
times  hide  from  view  a  person  on  the  opposite  side 
from  where  the  work  was  being  carried  on.  The 
thermometer,  hanging  in  the  shade  outside,  marked 


MOUND  NUMBER  FORTY-THREE.  183 

from  86°  to  96°.     After  an  hour's  time  we  would  all 
look  like  coal  miners  coming  out  of  a  shaft  at  the 

o 

end  of  a  day's  labor. 

In  order  to  show  the  complex  arrangement  of  the 
material  constituting  the  large  mound,  we  present 
two  sections  made  in  different  parts  of  the  trench. 

Figure  xxxi.  represents  a  section  of  the  face  of  the 
upper  bench,  taken  at  the  point  where  the  heavy 
charcoal  stratum  came  into  it  from  below  ;  only  the 
northern  portion  appears  here,  the  southern  side 
being  shown  in  the  next  figure — xxxii. 

Figure  xxxii.  will  show  how  exceedingly  compli 
cated  were  the  various  substances  at  the  point  where 
we  began  the  side  cut  for  the  purpose  of  uncovering 
the  log  pen  and  space  enclosed  by  the  stockade 
trench.  Only  a  painting  could  do  justice  to  the 
vivid  colors  presented  here  over  a  space  several  feet 
square.  Some  of  the  charcoal  was  iridescent,  like 
peacock  coal,  and  there  was  every  shade  of  yellow 
and  red  that  burnt  earth  could  present.  It  seemed 
almost  like  vandalism  to  destroy  it ;  but  perhaps 
many  think  that  the  whole  work  of  mound  excava 
tion  is  only  a  form  of  vandalism,  after  all. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HOPEWELL'S  TUMULI. 

FKOM  September  1,  1891,  until  the  middle  of 
January  of  the  following  year,  we  were  investigating 
the  tumuli  and  village  sites  of  Mr.  Cloud  Hope  well's 
farm,  one  mile  west  of  Anderson,  in  the  interests  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

It  would  not  be  just  to  Professor  Putnam  and  the 
World's  Fair  Commissioners  to  speak  specifically  of 
these  remains  and  our  finds,  as  the  excavations  were 
carried  on  at  the  expense  of  the  Fair;  hence,  our 
remarks  will  be  more  of  a  general  character.  The 
farm  overlooks  the  valley  of  the  North  Fork  of 
Paint  Creek,  and  its  ancient  remains  are  described 
in  Squier  and  Davis'  volume,  pages  24  to  29  inclu 
sive,  and  156  and  255.  At  the  time  of  their  survey 
the  place  was  known  as  the  Clark  Works. 

Twenty-four  mounds  of  various  dimensions  are 
enclosed  by  an  embankment  of  no  great  height.  The 
remains  lie  principally  upon  the  second  river  terrace, 
the  wall  of  the  fortification  extending  backwards  and 
upwards  to  the  edge  of  the  third  or  earliest  terrace. 
It  has  not  materially  changed  since  the  survey  of 
1845.  There  are  four  or  five  small  mounds  situated 
upon  the  third  terrace,  several  hundred  yards  north 

184 


HOPE  WELLS    TUMULI.  185 

of  the  fortification,  which  were  not  mentioned  in  the 
early  survey.  There  are  two  small  mounds  three 
hundred  feet  northeast  of  the  large  group  enclosed 
in  the  circle,  which  were  also  not  included. 

One  of  the  third  terrace  mounds  and  thirteen  of 
those  enclosed  by  the  embankment  were  thoroughly 
examined.  As  in  the  case  of  all  mounds  on  hi^h 

o 

ground,  nothing  of  note  was  uncovered.  The  other 
structures  opened  varied  from  one  foot  to  twenty- 
eight  feet  in  altitude,  having  diameters  ranging  from 
twenty  to  five  hundred  feet.  Plate  x.,  page  26  of 
Squier  and  Davis'  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Missis 
sippi  Valley,  gives  the  correct  representation  of  the 
North  Fork  Works.  The  mounds  which  we  exam 
ined  and  numbered  by  the  authors  of  the  volume 
just  named  were  One,  Two,  Three,  Four,  Five,  Six, 
Seven,  Eight,  Eleven,  Fourteen,  and  Sixteen ;  and  of 
the  mounds  unnumbered,  the  one  to  the  ri^ht  of 

'  O 

Eleven,  one  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  enclosure 
near  the  base  of  the  third  terrace,  the  large  one  in 
the  southeast  corner,  being  oblong  in  outline,  the 
three  enclosed  in  the  semicircle,  and  two  lying 
between  two  springs  just  north  of  the  words  "  area 
111  acres." 

The  half  circle  surrounding  the  large  group  has 
nearly  disappeared.  From  the  external  appearance 
of  the  group  before  excavation  and  the  internal  ap 
pearance  after  the  work  was  completed,  we  are  of 
the  opinion  that  one  large  mound  in  the  shape  of  the 
human  trunk  had  been  constructed.  Messrs.  Squier 
and  Davis  convey  the  idea  in  their  plan  that  three 
mounds  were  built  close  together  within  the  circle. 


1 86  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

We  do  not  think  it  was  the  intention  of  the  builders 
to  represent  three  distinct  mounds,  although  there 
are  variations  in  the  height  of  the  mound.  The  in 
ternal  structure  would  indicate  that  it  had  been 
built  gradually,  some  ten  or  fifteen  separate  addi 
tions  being  noticeable. 

Before  stating  conclusions  derived  from  the  exam 
ination  of  the  mounds  upon  Mr.  Hopewell's  farm,  it 
will  be  well  to  sum  up  the  peculiarities  of  construc 
tion  and  to  remark  upon  the  position  of  skeletons 
and  accompanying  objects.  All  the  mounds  were 
erected  upon  a  hard  burnt  floor.  In  the  instance  of 
the  large  oblong  mound  and  the  great  effigy,  gravel 
and  clay  intermixed  have  been  subject  to  a  heat 
sufficiently  intense  to  form  a  cement  of  equal  tough 
ness  to  that  of  an  ordinary  cellar  floor.  As  remarked 
in  foot-note  upon  page  174  the  oblong  mound  was 
constructed  at  two  different  periods.  When  first 
completed  its  altitude  did  not  exceed  ten  feet.  A 
few  years  later  gravel,  sand,  and  boulders  were 
heaped  upon  it  to  a  thickness  of  six  or  eight  feet  in 
the  centre.  The  gravel  has  since  been  affected  by 
erosion,  and  when  we  examined  the  structure  we 
observed  the  stratum  of  gravel  near  the  east  and 
west  ends  to  be  five  feet  in  thickness,  while  in  the 
centre  it  was  but  two  or  two  and  a  half  feet.  Figure 
xxxiv.  shows  a  ground  plan  of  this  mound  and  the 
lettered  objects,  skeletons  and  layers,  are  described 
on  page  188.  The  large  busy  con  shells,  and  stone 
bowl  from  this  mound  are  shown  in  Figures 
xxxvni.  and  XLIV. 

It  will  be  seen  by  comparison  of  these  illustra- 


FK;.  xxxiv. — (Iround  plan  of  Hopewell's  mound.     See  pai^e  186. 


187 


1 88  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

tions  with  those  of  Squier  and  Davis,  as  published 
in  the  latter  part  of  their  book,  that  the  objects 
exceed  in  beauty  and  workmanship  those  of  the 
same  character  taken  from  the  "  Mound  City  Group." 

Fig.  xxxiv.  The  oblong  mound,  Hopewell's 
Group.  Nos.  197  to  235,  inclusive,  are  skeletons. 
Fourteen  or  fifteen  were  accompanied  by  objects  or 
ornaments.  Near  Nos.  199  and  209  are  two  altars  of 
good  form.  Both  were  taken  out  entire. 

An  enormous  log  was  found  below  No.  221  and 
is  indicated  upon  the  map. 

c  is  a  seventeen-pound  copper  axe,  12^  by  5f 
inches,  and  1|-  inches  in  thickness. 

D  is  a  stone  bowl.     This  is  shown  in  Fig.  xxxvin. 

p  p  B  are  shells.     B  and  p  are  shown  in  Fig.  XLIV. 

p  H  indicates  a  post-hole. 

The  dark  streaks  represent  charcoal  and  black 
earth.  The  boulder  layers  are  shown  in  the  lower 
portion  of  the  figure. 

Figure  xxxvi.  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the 
skeleton  of  a  young  person  surrounded  and  covered 
by  numerous  copper  objects,  shells,  tablets,  and 
beads.  The  body  lay  but  two  feet  from  the  surface 
in  a  very  small  mound,  numbered  Eleven  upon 
Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis7  plan.  Near  it  was  anoth 
er  skeleton  from  the  hand  of  which  we  took  a  beau 
tiful  granite  pipe,  highly  polished,  and  exhibiting 
the  finest  workmanship  of  any  object  of  that  nature 
exhumed  from  the  mounds.  It  is  shown  to  the  left 
in  Illustration  XL. 

Fig.  XL.  (p.  207)  shows  cut  mica  ornaments,  a  pipe, 
and  three  copper  objects  perforated  for  suspension  as 


HOPEWELL'S    TUMULI.  189 

pendants.  The  bear  tusks  and  shell  ornaments  are 
from  the  Effigy  Mound. 

Fig.  XLI.  The  copper  spool-shaped  ornaments, 
mica  sheets  peculiarly  cut,  and  a  broad  wrist-band 
of  copper  exhibited  in  this  figure  are  all  from  Squier 
and  Davis7  mound  No.  Eleven. 

Fig.  XLIII.  In  this  is  shown  the  long  copper  cres 
cent  found  under  the  head  of  skeleton  No.  176, 
mound  No.  Eleven,  Squier  and  Davis.  The  long 
knife  placed  above  the  crescent  has  been  described 
in  Chapter  vm.  under  the  head  of  Oregonia. 

Mound  No.  Two  lies  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the 
enclosure  arid  was  partially  explored  by  Squier  and 
Davis.  They  refer  to  it  briefly  upon  page  158  of  their 
volume.  Their  statement,  made  with  great  modesty, 
that  four  thousand  flint  disks  were  deposited  in  the 
structure,  six  hundred  of  which  they  took  out,  is 
considerably  less  than  one  half  the  original  number. 
The  following  table  was  prepared  in  our  official 
capacity  as  assistant  in  Department  M  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition : 

DISKS. 

Excavated  from  the  mound  by  our  men 7*232 

Taken  out  by  Squier  and  Davis 600 

Taken  out  by  Mr.  Steel 200 

Given  M.  Hopewell  prior  to  official  count 80 

Found  upon  the  surface  near  mound  afterwards 42 

From  other  sources 31 


Total 8,185 

A  large  shouldered  spear-head,  was  the  only  imple 
ment  in  the  entire  number  differing  from  the  circular 


1 90  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

and  leaf-shaped  outline  of  the  disks.  It  can  be  seen 
in  Fig.  XLIL,  together  with  various  forms  of  the 
disks. 

Squier  and  Davis  report  that  the  disks  were 
placed  upon  edge  in  several  layers.  Their  error  is 
due  to  a  hasty  examination.  In  taking  the  mound 
entirely  out  we  found  the  disks  lying  in  little  pock 
ets  or  bunches  of  twelve  to  fifteen  each  with  layers 
of  sand  around  each  mass.  The  deposits  covered 
an  area,  nearly  circular  in  form,  of  twTenty-two  by 
twenty-six  feet.  In  places  they  ran  from  a  foot  to 
eighteen  inches  in  depth.  The  builders  of  the 
structure  had  apparently  carried  in  their  hands  and 
arms  all  the  disks  they  could  transport  readily  and 
deposited  them  upon  the  same  level,  while  others  of 
their  friends  poured  sand  between  and  over  each 
man's  deposit.  Having  completed  so  much  of  the 
mound,  a  second  series  of  deposits  was  made  exactly 
like  the  first. 

Most  of  the  disks  are  of  a  light  blue  color;  some 
are  gray.  They  are  made  from  flint  nodules  which 
occur  two  miles  northwest  of  Mr.  Hopewell's  farm. 
There  are  extensive  chippings  upon  several  estates 
in  the  neighborhood. 

The  magnitude  of  the  find  surpasses  any  discovery 
previously  made.  Fig.  xxxv.  represents  the  speci 
mens  heaped  at  the  side  of  our  tent.  They  cover 
a  space  of  fifteen  by  eight  by  three  feet  and  weigh 
nearly  six  thousand  eight  hundred  pounds.  It  re 
quired  four  horses  to  haul  them  from  the  mound  to 
the  camp  site. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Holmes,  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology 


FIG.   xxxvi. — Skeleton  176  from  mound  No.  20.     See  page  iSS.      The 
objects  are  unusually  numerous  and  unique  in  form. 


191 


IQ2  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

at  Washington  City,  and  Dr.  Thomas  Wilson,  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  both  visited  Camp  Hope- 
well  before  the  disks  were  shipped,  and  expressed 
their  surprise  at  the  importance  and  extent  of  the 
discovery.  Both  gentlemen  have  made  a  special 
study  of  the  flaking  and  chipping  of  implements, 
and  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  many  thousands  of 
nodules  were  broken  and  partially  worked  in  order 
to  produce  the  eight  thousand  disks.  Mr.  Holmes 
stated  that  four  in  five  nodules  contained  flaws  or 
seams  which  would  render  the  fashioning  of  perfect 
disks  an  impossibility. 

The  finely  chipped  circular  disk  shown  in  the 
upper  part  of  illustration  No.  XLII.  (to  the  left 
of  the  shouldered  spear-head)  was  undoubtedly  a 
finished  implement,  but  we  question  whether  the 
great  majority  of  the  disks  are  complete. 

We  think  the  mound  to  have  been  a  place  of 
storage,  where  the  natives  living  within  the  en 
closure  kept  material  to  be  subsequently  worked 
into  implements.  Flint,  freshly  taken  from  the 
earth,  is  much  more  easily  worked  than  that  which 
has  been  lying  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  long  time. 
The  aborigines  were  undoubtedly  aware  of  this  fact. 

The  finds  at  the  Hopewell  mounds  during  the 
latter  part  of  November  and  the  first  half  of  Decem 
ber  exceed  in  importance  all  previous  discoveries. 
The  examination  of  the  Effigy  Mound  at  the  writ 
ing  of  the  present  page  was  but  half  completed,  yet 
two  deposits  of  copper  aggregating  two  hundred 
and  thirty-five  pieces  have  been  taken  out.  There 
were  sheets  worked  into  fantastic  designs;  squares 


HOPE  WELL'S  TUMULI,  193 

and  semicircles ;  Swastika  crosses ;  effigies  of  birds 
and  fishes;  anklets  and  bracelets;  combs  and  pen 
dants;  large  and  small  celts,  one  weighing  thirty- 
eight  pounds,  twenty-two  and  a  half  inches  in  length, 
and  an  inch  and  a  half  in  thickness ;  and,  in  short, 
every  known  form  of  copper  implement  or  orna 
ment.  When  the  report  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  surveys  is  published  the  details  of  this 
marvellous  find  will  be  made  public. 

Although  Squier  and  Davis  examined  most  of 
the  mounds  upon  the  Hopewell  farm,  and  took 
altars  and  objects  from  them,  had  we  not  trusted  to 
their  report  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  dis 
tinguish  the  explored  froni  the  unexplored.  In 
most  of  the  mounds,  there  were  no  burials  in  the 
exact  centre.  After  Squier  and  Davis,  such  farmers 
as  made  up  their  minds  to  ruthlessly  intrude  upon 
the  structures  which  only  the  competent  should  ex 
plore,  acting  upon  this  belief,  sank  shafts  from  the 
summits  downward.  Fortunately  for  us  they  found 
little,  and  our  broad  trenches,  taking  in  the  great 
body  of  the  mounds,  secured  everything.  In  the 
case  of  mound  Number  One  there  is  no  elevation  to 
mark  where  it  stood,  but  we  suppose  from  the  num 
ber  of  beautifully  carved  bones  and  fragments  of 
discoidals  and  ornaments  found  northwest  from  the 
"  dug  hole  "  indicated  upon  their  map,  that  we  have 
found  where  it  stood.  One  of  our  men  excavating 
for  three  weeks  carefully  with  a  hand  trowel  for  a 
radius  of  one  hundred  yards  northwest  of  the  dug 
hole  found  near  the  surface  the  bits  of  carved  bone 
exhibited  in  Fig.  XXXLX.  The  attention  of  the 


194  PRIMlTirE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

reader  is  called  to  the  designs  upon  the  fragments  in 
the  upper  row.  The  carving1  is  much  finer  in 
detail  than  that  upon  any  of  the  shells  occasionally 
found  in  Tennessee. 

"  These  carved  traceries  or  engravings  upon  bone,  even 
in  fragmentary  state,  evince  an  artistic  aptitude  much 
beyond  the  mineral  and  vegetable  stain,  and  by  their 
almost  microscopic  delicacy  of  execution  and  unfaltering 
precision  of  linework,  show  a  high  degree  of  manual  skill. 

"  Though  some  are  undoubtedly  portions  of  barbaric 
and  desultory  design,  and  unsystematic  application  of 
indefinite  ideas,  others  bespeak  a  clearly  conceived  idea,  a 
definite  motive,  and  vigorous  execution,  not  inferior  to 
the  predominant  motives  of  early  Mediterranean  decora 
tive  art. 

"  They  are  clearly  not  of  an  illustrative  or  imitative 
design,  either  realistic  or  conventional,  but  created  design 
founded  on  purely  mechanical  motive,  with  good  concep 
tion  ;  and  it  is  regrettable  that  no  complete  examples 
remain  to  enable  a  correct  artistic  valuation  of  the  purpose 
of  the  whole." 

The  mound  enclosed  in  the  semicircle,  which 
Squier  and  Davis  have  considered  as  three  or  four 
mounds  built  together,  we  named  the  "  Effigy,"  on 
account  of  its  resemblance  to  the  human  trunk. 

Figure  i.,  the  frontispiece  of  this  volume,  gives  the 
head-dress  of  a  most  singular  skeleton  found  upon 
the  base  line,  northeast  of  the  centre  of  the  mound. 
The  Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette  published  a  brief 

1  Dr.  Cresson,   who  is  familiar  with   carved  bones  from  the  caverns  in 
southern  France,  holds  these  to   be  in  no  way  inferior  to  carvings  from 
Langiere-Basse,  Bruniquel,  and  Grotte  de  Lortet. 

2  The  three  paragraphs  referring  to  bone  carvings  were  written  by  our 
artist,  Mr.  Jack  Bennett. — W.  K.  M. 


r 

o 


HOPE  WELL'S  TUMULI.  195 

despatch,  the  morning  after  the  discovery  (November 
17,  1891),  from  which  we  copy  the  following: 

"  If  the  number  of  implements  is  evidence  of  the 
esteem  in  which  a  prehistoric  man  is  held  by  the  people, 
he  was  certainly  the  most  important  Cacique  of  the  Scioto 
Valley.  At  his  head  were  imitation  elk  horns,  neatly 
made  of  wood  and  covered  with  sheet-copper,  rolled  into 
cylindrical  form  over  the  prongs.  The  antlers  were 
twenty-two  inches  high  and  nineteen  inches  across  from 
prong  to  prong.  They  fitted  into  a  crown  of  copper,  bent 
to  fit  the  head  from  occipital  to  upper  jaw.  Copper 
plates  were  upon  the  breast  and  stomach  ;  also  on  the 
back.  The  copper  preserved  the  bones  and  a  few  of  the 
sinews.  It  also  preserved  traces  of  cloth  similar  to  coffee- 
sacking  in  texture,  interwoven  among  the  threads  of 
which  were  nine  hundred  beautiful  pearl  beads,  bear  teeth 
split  and  cut,  and  hundreds  of  other  beads  both  pearl  and 
shell.  Copper  spool-shaped  objects  and  other  implements 
covered  the  remains.  A  pipe  of  granite  and  a  spear-head 
of  agate  were  near  the  right  shoulder.  The  pipe  was  of 
very  fine  workmanship  and  highly  polished." 

The  bear  teeth  and  tusks  in  Figure  XL.  exhibit  cut 
and  sawed  ends.  Several  of  them  have  bone  plugs 
inserted  in  perforations. 

We  should  be  pleased  to  refer  to  boulder  outlines 
representing  panthers,  skeletons,  the  interesting  con 
struction,  etc.,  of  this  mound,  but,  as  before  said,  the 
notes  taken  this  summer  are  not  our  property. 

The  strong  mixture  of  the  two  races,  brachy- 
cephalic  and  dolicocephalic,  as  exhibited  on  several 
of  the  mounds  on  Messrs.  Hopewell's  farm,  was  to  us 
at  first  inexplicable.  But  as  excavations  brought  to 
light  new  finds  we  could  come  but  to  one  conclusion, 


196  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

both  from  an  inspection  of  the  crania  and  the  imple 
ments.  The  short-headed  race,  predominating  to 
such  an  extent  in  the  river  valleys  of  the  Tennessee, 
also  controlled  the  Scioto  and  Miami  settlements. 
The  few  long-heads  present  were  undoubtedly  sub 
servient  to  the  short-heads. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

WE  labor  under  considerable  difficulty  in  making 
our  conclusions,  for  what  may  be  perfectly  clear  to 
the  explorer  may  not  be  so  apparent  to  the  reader. 

We  ask,  therefore,  most  careful  attention  on  his 
part  while  we  make  an  explanation  which  must 
necessarily  be  long,  because  of  the  great  mass  of 
material  that  is  to  be  considered. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  that  tribes  did  not 
occupy  the  northern  portion  of  the  State  for  any 
great  length  of  time.  The  hilly  regions  do  not  con 
tain  sufficient  evidences  of  early  man's  presence  to 
enter  into  these  conclusions.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  our  arguments  deal  entirely  with  the  large  river 
valleys. 

The  field  work  shows  that  both  the  brachy cephalic 
and  dolicocephalic  races  intermingled  largely  in  all 
the  valleys  save  the  Muskingum,  and  from  this 
various  complications  arise. 

The  reports  of  the  Madisonville  Historical  Society 
and  those  of  Dr.  Metz  and  Professor  Putman  have 
proved  the  predominance  of  the  short-headed  stock 
in  that  great  cemetery.  Our  own  observations  lead 
to  a  similar  conclusion  in  regard  to  Fort  Ancient. 

197 


198  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

In  the  Scioto  valley,  afc  Hope  well's  Earthwork 
and  other  parts  of  Ohio  and  the  Miami  valley,  Dr. 
Cresson  has  noted  a  large  predominance  of  the 
brachycephali  over  the  dolicocephali,  the  osteological 
affinitives  of  these  people  resembling  those  of  the 
stone-grave  people  of  Tennessee  so  closely  that  there 
is  little  doubt  that  the  builders  of  Hopewell's 
Earthwork  are  but  an  advanced  offshoot  to  the  north 
of  tliis  people. 

In  the  Muskingum  valley,  as  was  observed  in 
Chapter  in.,  the  mounds  contain  the  crania  of  the 
long-headed  stock.  The  other  valleys  of  Ohio 
inhabited  by  the  short-heads  were  just  as  fertile 
and  attractive  to  primitive  man  as  the  Muskiugum. 
Why,  then,  did  not  one  race  or  the  other  occupy 
the  whole  valley  ?  An  examination  will  reveal 
the  reason. 

The  long-heads  established  toward  the  east  in  the 
Muskingum  valley  were  too  strong  to  be  dislodged 
by  the  short-heads,  an  offshoot  of  whom  we  have 
already  stated  had  probably  advanced  from  the 
south  and  southwest,  through  Tennessee  and  Ken 
tucky  into  the  valleys  of  the  Miami  and  Scioto,  and 
they,  in  their  turn,  were  too  powerful  in  the  west  to 
be  driven  back  by  their  enemies  from  the  land  which 
they  had  taken  possession  of. 

The  long-heads  were  the  more  combative  of  the 
two,  because  they  established  small  villages  in  Cler-  j 
mont  and  Clinton  counties,  but  twenty-five  to  forty 
miles  from  Fort  Ancient,  the  great  fortress  of  the\ 
short-heads.     Had  the  short-heads  entered  a  vigor 
ous  campaign   against   the  long-heads   in  the   Mus- 


CL 

8 
o 


I 


CONCL  US10NS.  1 99 

kingum  valley,  they  might  have  crushed  the  latter 
aiid  taken  possession  of  the  area  which  they  occu 
pied.  They  were  probably  the  more  timid  of  the 
two,  for  throughout  their  territory  are  numerous 
fortifications,  while  in  the  Muskinguni  valley  there 
is  but  one,  and  that  is  the  magnificent  work  upon 
the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Marietta.  Undoubt 
edly  the  few  scattered  villages  of  long-heads  were 
composed  of  the  rougher  element  of  the  nation,  the 
fierce  fighters,  the  relentless  foes  of  the  more  peaceful 
short-heads. 

We  would  say  that  the  presence  of  dolicocephalic 
skulls  at  HopewelPs  Earthwork,  Fort  Ancient,  or  at 
Madisonville  indicates  the  adoption  and  gradual 
absorption  of  the  former  people  captured  by  the 
short-head  stock.  It  is  possible  that  the  crania  of 
the  long-headed  type  which  we  found  near  the  short- 
heads  were  those  of  slaves,  placed  thus  to  indicate 
their  vassalage.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  they 
did  not  enter  the  tribe  of  their  enemies  of  their  own 
free  will.  We  never  find  them  buried  with  orna 
ments  or  implements,  as  we  do  those  of  the  short- 
heads  in  the  same  mound.  There  are  so  few 
skeletons  of  the  dolicocephali  found  at  Fort  Ancient 
and  at  Hopewell's  Earthwork  that  we  are  inclined 
to  the  opinion  that  their  attacks  were  generally 
repulsed. 

Nothing  more  than  the  upper  status  of  savagery 
was  attained  by  any  race  or  tribe  living  within  the 
limits  of  the  present  State  of  Ohio.  All  statements 
to  the  contrary  are  misrepresentations.  If  we  go  by 
field  testimony  alone  (not  to  omit  the  reports  of 


200  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

early  travellers  among  North  American  tribes),  we 
can  assign  primitive  man  high  attainments  in  but 
few  things,  and  these  indicate  neither  civilization 
nor  an  approach  toward  it. 

First,  he  excelled  in  building  earthen  fortifications 
and  in  the  interment  of  his  dead ;  second,  he  made 
surprisingly  long  journeys  for  mica,  copper,  lead, 
shells,  and  other  foreign  substances  to  be  used  as 

*  O 

tools  and  ornaments ;  third,  he  was  an  adept  in  the 
chase  and  in  war ;  fourth,  he  chipped  flint  and  made 
carvings  on  bone,  stone,  and  slate  exceedingly  well, 
when  we  consider  the  primitive  tools  he  employed ; 
fifth,  a  few  of  the  more  skilful  men  of  his  tribe 
made  fairly  good  representations  of  animals,  birds, 
and  human  figures  in  stone. 

This  sums  up,  in  brief,  all  that  he  seemed  capable 
of,  which  we  in  our  day  can  consider  remarkable. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  failed  to  grasp  the  idea  of 
communication  by  written  characters,  the  use  of 
metal  (except  in  the  cold  state),  the  cutting  of  stone 
or  the  making  of  brick  for  building  purposes,  and 
the  construction  of  permanent  homes.  Ideas  of 
transportation,  other  than  upon  his  own  back  or 
in  frail  canoes,  or  the  use  of  coal,  which  was  so 
abundant  about  him,  and  which  he  frequently  made 
into  pendants  and  ornaments,  and  a  thousand  other 
things  which  civilized  beings  enjoy,  were  utterly 
beyond  his  comprehension.  Instead  of  living  peace 
fully  in  villages  and  improving  a  country  unequalled 
in  natural  resources,  of  which  he  was  the  sole  pos 
sessor,  he  spent  his  time  in  petty  warfare,  or  in 
savage  worship,  and  in  the  observance  of  the  gross- 


CONCL  U  SIGNS.  2O I 

est  superstitions.  He  possessed  110  knowledge  of 
surgery  or  the  setting  of  bones,  unless  we  accept  as 
evidence  two  neatly  knitted  bones  found  at  Fosters', 
which  by  some  extra  effort  he  may  have  accom 
plished.  But,  while  admitting  these  two  speci 
mens  to  be  actually  and  carefully  set  writh  splints, 
we  have  scores  of  femora,  humeri,  and  other  bones 
from  Fort  Ancient  and  Oregonia  which  are  worn  flat 
against  unnatural  sockets,  formed  after  the  bones 
had  been  displaced.  We  have  broken  fibulae  and 
tibiae  which  had  never  been  reset.  They  were  bent 
like  a  bow,  and  nature  alone  had  aided  them  in 
coming  together. 

It  has  been  the  mistake  of  many  writers  upon  the 
antiquities  of  Ohio,  to  accept  as  evidence  of  the 
civilization  of  these  peoples  the  mere  fact  that  they 
could  build  circular  and  square  embankments  and 
great  fortifications.  Any  school-boy  knowrs  that  he 
can  form  a  perfect  circle  by  taking  hold  of  the  hands 
of  his  comrades  and  placing  one  of  their  number  at 
ten  feet  from  the  line  to  observe  that  the  rest  keep 
properly  stretched  out.  The  boy  at  one  end  acts 
as  a  pivot,  the  others  swinging  in  a  circle,  wrhile 
the  boy  at  the  end  farthest  from  the  pivot  marks 
upon  the  ground  with  a  stick  as  far  out  from  the 
line  as  he  can  reach.  Four  hundred  men,  placed  in 
four  lines  of  one  hundred  each,  can  easily  mark  a 
square  which  will  be  but  two  or  three  feet  out 
of  geometric  proportions. 

We  mention  these  facts  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
reader  to  some  things  to  which  many  persons  give 
undue  prominence. 


202  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

Our  study  of  primitive  man  leads  us  to  a  belief  in 
two  tribes  of  savages,  not  two  tribes  of  semi-civilized 
people.  The  impression  usually  conveyed  by  the 
term  "  Mound  Builders  "  will  not  stand  in  the  light 
of  modern  science.  While  it  is  more  or  less  of  a 
disappointment  to  many  not  to  be  able  to  place 
primitive  man  in  Ohio  on  an  equality  with  the  status 
of  Mexican  or  South  American  tribes,  yet  it  is  a 
gratification  to  know  that  the  vexatious  question 
concerning  his  movements  and  every-day  life  has 
been  very  nearly  settled.  There  is  a  fascination  in 
studying  him  even  as  a  savage  and  investigating  the 
numerous  remains  which  attest  his  occupancy  of  this 
territory. 

This  volume  has  been  written  in  the  field  while 
the  facts  given  in  the  preceding  pages  are  fresh  in 
memory.  It  is  testimony  noted  down  while  un 
covering  the  relics  of  a  people  long  since  departed 
which  has  suggested  to  us  the  use  to  which  he  put 
implements,  how  primitive  man  made  his  burials, 
his  peculiar  sacrifices  upon  clay  altars,  the  singular 
head-dresses  of  copper  which  he  sometimes  placed 
over  distinguished  leaders  of  his  tribe,  yet  we  regret 
there  is  no  means  of  ascertaining  his  language.  Dr. 
D.  Gr.  Brinton,  the  distinguished  American  ethnolo 
gist,  in  his  admirable  book  The  American  Hace,  has 
given  archaeologists  an  idea  of  the  languages  of  all 
Indian  tribes  of  historic  times.  Would  that  he  could 
give  us  the  language  of  the  two  races  that  it  has  been 
our  purpose  to  describe.  This  can  never  be,  how 
ever,  for  that  delicate  mechanism  which  aided  them 
to  communicate  one  with  the  other  is  now  silent. 


CONCLUSIONS.  203 

With  the  exception  of  the  languages  of  the 
brachycephalic  and  dolicocephalic  races  we  under 
stand  their  movements  quite  clearly.  During  the 
long  ages  spent  in  occupation  of  beautiful  Ohio  they 
constructed  earthworks,  erected  their  villages,  buried 
their  dead  amidst  pomp  and  ceremony,  travelled 
from  one  part  of  the  State  to  another,  stoically  re 
sisting  the  attacks  of  their  enemies.  Where  they 
lived  and  enjoyed  savage  pleasures,  indulged  in 
barbaric  pursuits  and  semi-religious  festivals,  the 
Shawnee  Indian  afterward  erected  towns  and  vil 
lages.  Close  upon  his  heels  followed  the  white 
settlers.  Then  was  instituted  a  real  civilization  in 
the  Ohio  valley. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS  WITH  TABLE  OF  MEASUREMENTS. 

DURING  the  summer  of  1891  a  large  and  interesting 
osteological  collection  excavated  from  the  mounds  of 
the  Miami  and  Scioto  valleys  by  Mr.  Moorehead,  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Archaeological  Survey,  was 
stored  at  the  camp  on  the  North  Fork  of  Paint  Creek, 
near  Anderson,  Ohio.  This  material,  together  with 
that  which  was  daily  accumulating  from  the  explora 
tions  in  progress  at  the  Hope  well  Earthworks,  was 
awaiting  shipment  to  Chicago.  A  thorough  study 
of  such  a  large  number  of  crania  and  skeletons  would 
necessarily  occupy  an  indefinite  period,  even  if  ample 
time  could  be  devoted  to  it,  but  our  duties  in  con 
nection  with  the  archaeological  explorations,  which 
are  still  in  progress  for  the  World's  Columbian  Ex 
position,  make  it  impossible  to  give  any  more  than  a 
resume  of  the  subject,  taken  in  spare  moments  from 
notes  made  in  the  field.  In  this  connection  it  may 
be  well  to  mention  that  the  study  of  osteology  and 
craniology  has,  with  a  few  exceptions,  been  neglected 
by  archaeologists  in  this  country,  which  fact  has  been 
severely  criticised  by  European  students.  To  omit, 
therefore,  even  a  brief  consideration  of  the  subject 
would  be  inconsistent,  and  oblige  the  readers  of  this 
work  to  remain  uninformed  as  to  the  anatomical 


204 


205 


206  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

characteristics  of  the  people  whose  remains  were 
excavated  from  the  various  earth  works  and  mounds 
referred  to  in  the  preceding  pages. 

During  a  visit  to  Washington  made  a  couple  of 
years  ago,  Dr.  Thomas  Wilson,  Curator  of  Pre 
historic  Anthropology  at  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
courteously  allowed  us  to  examine  the  crania  and 
skeletons  of  the  mound  collection  deposited  tempor 
arily  in  that  museum  by  Mr.  Moorehead.  A  portion 
of  this  material  had  been  excavated  from  stone 
graves  within  Fort  Ancient  and  the  stone  heaps 
which  lie  upon  the  terraces  without  its  walls.  The 
other  part  came  from  various  village  sites  on  the 
bottoms  of  the  Little  Miami  River  which  are 
covered  by  alluvial  deposits,  and  from  various  other 
portions  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  Notes  taken  at  that 
time  have  greatly  aided  in  the  preparation  of  this 
chapter.  During  the  residence  of  the  archaeological 
survey  at  Chillicothe  various  archaeological  collec 
tions  were  placed  at  our  disposal  for  examination, 
and  much  valuable  information  obtained.  This  dis 
position  to  aid  investigation  was  not  only  apparent 
at  that  place,  but  in  all  parts  of  the  State  which  it 
was  necessary  to  visit  in  order  to  obtain  the  neces 
sary  data  for  comparison. 

It  is  difficult  to  classify  the  crania  found  through 
out  the  mound-building  and  stone-grave  areas  of 
the  State  of  Ohio  (Fig.  XLV.).  The  same  variations 
in  form  and  capacity  are  to  be  remarked  in  them  as 
among  those  of  the  Mississippi  and  Cumberland 
valleys,  and  types  as  wide  apart  as  those  of  the 
Caucasian  and  Ethiopian  are  not  uncommon.  Still 


207 


208  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

if  we  may  judge  from  the  careful  investigations  of 
Professor  Putnam,  Dr.  Metz,  Mr.  Fowke,  Messrs. 
Moorehead  and  Cresson  in  the  Big  and  Little  Miami 
valleys,  and  that  of  the  Scioto,  and  other  portions 
of  Ohio,  the  predominant  type  of  the  crania  exca 
vated  is  brachy cephalic  (Fig.  XLVIL).  Traces  of  these 
short-headed  people  are  to  be  found  in  Peru,  Central 
America,  Mexico,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona,  and 
may  be  traced  across  from  the  south  and  west  until 
we  find  them  intermingled  with  the  long-headed 
peoples  of  localities  east  of  the  Mississippi — their 
burials  extending  even  as  far  as  the  Atlantic  coast. 
These  migrations  of  the  brachycephali  seem  to  have 
been  more  hotly  contested  at  some  points  than  at 
others  by  the  people  whom  they  finally  encountered 
and  absorbed  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee. 
At  Fort  Ancient  the  struggle  seems  to  have  been  a 
bitter  one,  as  indicated  by  Mr.  Moorehead's  descrip 
tion  of  the  condition  of  the  osteological  material 
from  the  Middle  Fort.  No  friendly  relations  seem 
to  have  existed.  The  long-heads  (Fig.  XLVI.)  were 
evidently  the  attacking  people,  who  beseiged  the 
earthwork  and  were  buried  apart  outside  of  its  walls 
under  the  stone  heaps.  At  Hope  well's  Earthwork, 
farther  to  the  eastward,  the  burials  do  not  indicate 
this  marked  separation,  for  we  find  both  types  inter 
mingled  together,  the  short-headed  greatly  predomi 
nating,  the  other  people  in  fact  almost  absorbed  by 
them.  This  same  predominance  of  the  short-heads 
over  the  dolicocephalic  type  is  also  to  be  remarked 
at  Madison ville  cemetery,  southwest  of  Fort  An 
cient,  and  at  Hopewell's  Earthwork. 


20Q 


2IO  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

At  the  aboriginal  cemetery  near  Madisonville, 
twelve  hundred  crania  out  of  fourteen  hundred 
were  classed  as  brachy cephalic.  Further  references 
might  be  made  to  the  short-headed  people  in  other 
groups  of  mounds  and  cemeteries  of  Ohio,  but  as 
we  are  considering  the  osteological  material  from 
certain  specified  localities  already  referred  to,  we 
shall  confine  our  remarks  to  it  alone. 

The  general  characteristics  of  the  brachycephalic 
skulls  in  the  collections  of  which  we  speak  are  not 
unlike  those  of  the  stone-grave  people  of  Tennessee. 
In '  fact  their  modes  of  burial  at  Fort  Ancient, 
Oregonia,  and  at  Hopewell's  Earthworks  on  the 
North  Fork  of  Paint  Creek  are  similar,  as  indicated 
in  Chapter  vm.  An  examination  of  several  thou 
sand  stone  graves  in  Tennessee  has  also  led  us  to  the 
same  conclusions,  especially  since  abundant  oppor 
tunities  have  been  afforded  for  comparison  while 
superintending  work  in  different  parts  of  Ohio. 

The  crania  of  the  brachycephalic  type  in  the  vari 
ous  Ohio  collections  that  we  have  examined  are 
short,  round,  and  in  some  cases  quite  heavy  (Fig. 
XLVII.).  A  skull  excavated  at  Hopewell's  Earthworks, 
Ross  County,  Ohio,  weighed  thirty-three  and  a  half 
ounces.  The  frontal  bones  retreat  somewhat  tow 
ard  the  parietals,  which  are  full  and  moderately 
elevated. 

The  face  is  a  little  shorter  perhaps  than  the  aver 
age  mesaticephali  and  dolicocephali  who  are  found 
at  times  intermingled  in  their  burials,  and  has  large 
and  prominent  cheek-bones.  The  brows  in  the 
crania  before  us  are  nearly  straight,  the  superciliary 


211 


212  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

ridges  heavy,  and  the  orbits  open  and  square.  The 
supranasal  depression  in  most  cases  is  not  strongly 
marked  and  in  some  of  the  crania  does  not  exist. 

The  nasal  spine  in  front  of  the  ethmoidal  notch 
projects  downwards  and  forwards,  and  is  generally 
well  developed  (Fig.  XLIX.,  A),  but  exceptions  are  to 
be  noted  in  which  the  spine  is  short  and  blunt.  The 
nasal  bone  is  oblong,  and  varies  in  size  with  different 
individuals.  The  concavity  from  above  downward, 
of  the  outer  surface,  in  two  cases  before  us,  is  greatly 
exaggerated,  amounting  to  a  positive  deformity  (see 
illustration,  Fig.  XLIX.,  B).  It  cannot  be  attributed 
to  the  distortion  of  earth  pressure,  as  the  specimens 
referred  to  were  taken  from  stone  graves  where  the 
slabs  of  stone  at  the  side  and  above  prevented  direct 
contact  of  the  earth  with  the  bones. 

The  jaws  are  heavy  and  at  times  prognathic,  with 
marked  projection  of  the  mental  protuberance. 
Prognathism  is  not  a  constant  feature  of  this  collec 
tion.  The  dental  foramen  varies  in  its  position  to 
the  right  and  left  of  a  line  drawn  perpendicularly 
through  the  centre  of  the  second  bicuspid  tooth. 
The  external  oblique  line  is  strongly  developed  with 
marked  inclination  of  the  ridge  upward  and  back 
ward.  The  tubercles  for  the  attachment  of  the  genio- 
hyo-glossi  muscles  in  some  cases  are  quite  long,  while 
those  below  for  the  genio-hyoideus  are  scarcely  per 
ceptible.  Sometimes  but  one  side  of  the  tubercles 
is  developed.  At  times  the  tubercles  for  the  attach 
ment  of  the  muscles  just  referred  to  are  almost  imper 
ceptible. 

The    occipital   bone  is  trapezoidal  in  form    and 


CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS. 

somewhat  curved  upon  itself.  Both  it  and  the 
parietals,  which  articulate  at  the  superior  border, 
are  at  times  found  flattened  into  one  plane,  this 
being  advanced  well  forward.  Various  forms  of 
distortion  seem  to  have  been  produced  without  any 
special  tendency  to  design  in  moulding  that  particular 
portion  of  the  head,  but  rather  from  strapping  to 
a  cradle-board  during  infancy.  This  is  suggested 
by  the  fact  that  the  occipital  bone  is  flattened,  in 
some  cases,  from  its  superior  angle  well  back  toward 


FIG.  XLIII. — Fourteen  inch  flint  dagger  from  Taylor's  mound,  Oregonia, 
and  copper  crescent,  mound  No.  20,  Hopewell's  Group.  See  pages  102 
and  189. 

the  attachment  of  the  ligamentum  nuchaB,  or  it  may 
be  centred  somewhat  toward  the  superior  angle  of 
the  bone. 

To  say  that  the  cranium  is  flattened  posteriorly  in 
all  cases  is  too  sweeping  an  assertion,  and  to  avoid 
confusion  in  future  research  it  may  be  suggested 
that  the  exact  position  on  the  lateral  region  of  the 
skull  be  indicated.  Where  force  has  been  applied 
to  both  the  frontal  and  occipital  bones  at  the  same 
time,  the  distortion  is  of  course  more  easily  recog- 


214  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

nized.  "  Accidental  flattening  of  the  head,"  as  we 
shall  designate  it,  is  not  so  common  among  the 
specimens  that  we  have  examined  from  the  Great 
and  Little  Miami  and  Scioto  valleys,  as  in  those 
found  among  the  stone  graves  and  mounds  of  Ten 
nessee  and  Kentucky.  In  some  cases,  however,  dis 
tortion  by  accidental  flattening  is  so  great  as  to 
interfere  with  accurate  measurements  of  the  skull. 
Post-mortem  compression,  too,  must  be  considered,  as 
it  modifies  the  original  form  of  the  skull,  and  both  it 
and  accidental  flattening  may  increase  its  width. 
We  have  had  the  opportunity  of  excavating  with 
our  own  hand  various  skeletons  and  crania  from  the 
lower  levels  of  large  mounds  at  the  Hopewell  Earth 
works.  The  superincumbent  masses  of  earth  com 
prising  the  structures  measured  respectively  twenty- 
two  feet  and  twelve  feet.  Above  the  bones,  in  both 
instances,  were  masses  of  pebbles  cemented  together 
by  the  percolation  of  water  from  above  through 
layers  of  earth  and  clay  impregnated  with  ferrous 
oxide,  forming  a  hard  concrete.  This  was  so  hard 
as  to  almost  defy  the  picks  of  our  workmen.  It 
might  naturally  be  supposed  that  this  stout  covering 
would  protect  the  skeletons  buried  beneath,  yet  so 
hard  was  the  pressure  from  above  that  in  the  major 
ity  of  cases  the  bones  were  flattened,  and,  to  use  the 
expression  of  the  foreman  of  the  laborers  employed 
in  excavating,  "  the  bones  looked  as  if  they  had  been 
drawn  between  iron  rollers."  This  gives  us  a  good 
example  of  the  pliability  of  the  bones  of  the  skele 
tons  when  directly  exposed  to  earth  pressure.  Where 
the  interments  are  protected  by  coverings  as  in  the 


215 


2l6  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

stone  grave,  its  effects  are  seldom  perceptible.  The 
effects  of  earth  pressure  cannot  be  too  carefully  con 
sidered,  especially  in  material  from  earth  mounds 
where  clay  predominates  in  the  structure.  As  a 
general  thing  we  have  remarked  less  distortion  in 
osseous  material  excavated  from  gravel  pits  and 
mounds  in  which  this  material  is  in  direct  contact 
with  the  bones. 

For  convenience  in  the  classification  of  crania 
where  accidental  flattening  has  occurred,  the  method 
adopted  by  Mr.  Lucien  Carr,  Assistant  Curator  of 
the  Peabody  Museum,  Harvard  University,  is  un 
doubtedly  the  best.  He  has  established,  to  use  his 
own  words,  "  A  purely  arbitrary  fourth  class  of  flat 
tened  skulls,  to  which  is  relegated  all  those  having 
an  index  of  .900  and  over." 

Resuming  our  description  of  the  principal  feat 
ures  of  the  brachycephalic  skull,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  squamous  portion  of  the  temporal  bone  is 
slightly  thicker  than  in  the  European,  and  the  zy 
goma  slightly  heavier  and  more  prominent.  The 
post-glenoid  process  is  well  marked.  The  naastoid 
portion  of  the  temporal  bone  is  heavy  in  many  cases, 
but  not  sufficiently  marked  to  distinguish  those  in  the 
skulls  before  us,  from  those  of  the  dolicocephali  and 
mesaticephali  of  the  regions  which  we  are  consider 
ing.  The  digastric  fossa  is  deeply  marked,  also  the 
groove  for  the  occipital  artery.  The  fossa  sigmoidea 
is  very  broad  and  deep  in  the  specimens  which  are 
being  excavated  at  Hope  well's  Earthworks,  much 

1  Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  1878,  vol.  ii.,  No.  2, 
P-  37i. 


13 

I 
I 


CRANIA    AND    SKELETONS. 


more  so  we  think  than  in 
ated  as  we  are  in  the  field, 
means  of   comparison   with 
localities,  it  is  impossible  to 
The  surfaces,  spines,  and 
attachment,  upon  the   bases 


the  European,  but  situ- 
without  the  necessary 
specimens  from  other 
speak  with  exactitude, 
processes,  for  muscular 
of  the  crania  are  well 


developed. 

The   pneumatic  spine  of  Hyrtl  was  observed  in 
three  crania. 


FIG.  XLVI. — Skull  from  Hopewell's  Group.     See  page  223. 

Large  Wormian  bones  are  to  be  noticed  in  many 
of  the  brachycephalic  skulls  corresponding  to  num 
bers  three,  four,  and  five  of  Broca's  scale,  and  in 
seven  crania  epactal  bones  are  found  complicated 
with  a  multitude  of  minute  Wormian  bones.  These 
bones  seem  to  predominate  among  the  brachycephali 
of  the  collection  now  before  us. 

The  incomplete  os  incce  of  Anoutchine  was  found 


218 


PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 


in  two,  and  the  true  quadrate  bone  in  four  crania. 
The  ossa  apicis  of  Virchow  is  to  be  remarked  in 
five  of  the  Scioto  valley  skulls  and  three  of  those 
from  Fort  Ancient. 

In  eight  of  the  brachycephalic  skulls  the  squa- 
mosal  suture  was  closed.     In  sixteen  the  sagittal 


FIG.  XLVII. — Skull,  side  view,  Fort  Ancient,  stone  grave.     See  pages 
208  and  223. 

suture  was  closed.  In  ten  specimens  the  coronal  and 
sagittal  sutures  were  both  obliterated.  Three  had 
the  coronal  and  sagittal  sutures  partly  obliterated, 
while  in  seven  the  coronal,  sagittal,  and  lambdoidal 
were  entirely  closed. 

We  shall  speak  next  of  the  mesaticephalic  crania, 


CRANIA    AND    SKELETONS.  219 

having  begun  with  that  of  the  short-headed  people, 
because  they  predominate  so  largely  over  the  dolico- 
cephali  in  the  collections  before  us  from  the  Little 
Miami  and  Scioto  valleys. 

Mesaticephalic  Crania. 

The  bones  of  these  skulls  are  not  so  heavy  as  in 
the  brachycephalic  type,  and  the  posterior  parietals 
less  sloping.  The  forehead  is  retreating,  with  heavy 
superciliary  ridges.  The  glabella  is  not  prominent, 
and  with  but  few  nasal  depressions.  The  occiput 
is,  as  a  general  thing,  heavier  and  raised  higher  than 
the  alveolar  plane  of  the  dolicocephali  with  which 
they  have  been  compared.  The  mastoid  processes 
of  the  temporal  bone  are  narrower  and  shorter,  and 
not  so  well  developed  as  in  the  long  skulls.  Neither 
are  the  planes  and  processes  of  attachment  on  their 
bases  so  well  marked  as  in  the  two  other  types 
under  consideration. 

The  sutures  are  like  those  of  the  short-headed 
people  in  character,  and  the  Wormian  bones  not  so 
well  developed,  seldom  measuring  over  number  three 
of  Broca's  scale.  The  majority  of  the  males  are 
platyrhine,  the  females  and  children  mesorhine. 

Dolicocephalic  Crania. 

The  bones  of  the  skull  are  not  heavy.  Viewed  in 
front,  the  skull  presents  an  oval  with  the  large  end 
extending  well  behind,  caused  by  a  somewhat  narrow 
bulging  occiput.  The  forehead  is  generally  high 
and  narrow,  with  strongly  marked  superciliary 


220  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN  OHIO. 

ridges.  Posterior  condyloid  and  mastoid  equilib 
rium  are  noticeable  features  of  a  few  of  the  crania, 
but,  as  a  general  thing,  ordinary  equilibrium  occurs 
most  frequently.  At  the  OPHYKON  the  outline  of 


FIG.  XLVIII. — Perforated  skull,  Hopewell's  Group.      Occipital  perforation. 
See  page  234. 

the  carinated  ridge  is  somewhat  narrow,  gradually 
widening  as  it  approaches  the  bregma.  Above  the 
obelion  a  bifurcation  in  the  specimen  before  us  is 
apparent,  disappearing  upon  the  parietal  bone,  and 


CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS.  221 

in  other  cases  diverging  somewhat  toward  the  larnb- 
doid  suture.  The  outline  of  the  majority  of  the 
Scioto  valley  dolicocephali  is  somewhat  retreating, 
more  marked  in  this  respect  than  those  of  Fort 
Ancient  and  Oregonia. 

The  mastoid  process  is  long,  full,  and  broad,  with 
its  posterior  border  directed  obliquely  downward 
and  forward.  Following  an  imaginary  line  upward 
and  backward,  we  arrive  at  the  posterior  part  of  the 
temporal  ridge  on  the  side  of  the  head.  It  is  well 
developed  and  prominent,  curving  well  forward  over 
or  above  the  parietal  eminences,  its  highest  point 
generally  extending  back  of  the  coronal  suture.  The 
styloid  process  in  two  of  the  crania,  one  specimen 
excavated  from  a  stone  grave  at  Fort  Ancient  by 
Mr.  Moorehead,  and  another  excavated  by  Dr.  Ores- 
son  at  Foster's,  measured  four  and  a  half  and  five 
centimetres  respectively  (Fig.  LII.,  B). 

The  diameter  of  maximum  breadth  ends,  in  some 
of  these  crania,  at  a  point  a  little  below  half-way 
between  the  parietal  eminences  and  the  squamous 
suture.  It  is,  in  most  cases,  to  the  rear  of  the  auric- 
ulo-bregmatic  line. 

There  is  no  constant  relation,  so  far  as  we  are  able 
to  discover,  between  the  capacity  of  these  crania  and 
the  size  of  the  foramen  magnum. 

The  coronal  and  sagittal  sutures  and  the  lambdoid 
increase  in  complexity  posteriorly  with  few  excep 
tions.  The  sutures  are  quite  frequently  opened  in 
those  crania  from  the  Scioto  valley,  but  not  so  much 
as  at  Fort  Ancient  and  Oregonia.  The  sutures  varied 
in  complexity  from  two  to  five  of  Broca's  scale. 


222 


PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 


The  "  pterion  in  H  "  of  Broca  was  remarked  in  eight 
out  of  one  hundred  skulls.  The  internasal  sutures 
were  remarked  closed  in  eight  out  of  thirty  crania 
from  the  Little  Miami,  Scioto,  and  Ohio  valleys. 

The  number  of  Wormian  bones  in  the  dolicoce- 
phalic  crania  are  fewer  in  number  than  in  those  of  the 
two  other  types  already  spoken  of. 


FIG.  XLIX. — Fragments  of  crania  showing  low  facial  angles.     Hopewell's 
Group.     See  pages  212  and  232. 

The  nasal  bones  are  long  and  of  medium  width. 

The  crania  from  Foster's  are  blunt  along  the  lower 
border  of  the  nasal  aperture.  The  nasal  spine  is 
usually  blunt  in  the  majority  of  crania  from  the 
Scioto  valley  in  the  collection  before  us. 

At  Hopewell's  Earthworks  sixty-nine    skeletons 


CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS.  22$ 

were  excavated,  and  of  these,  so  far  as  we  were 
able  to  determine,  thirty  were  brachycephalic  (Fig. 
XLVII.),  ten  dolicocephalic  (Fig.  XLVL),  four  rnesa- 
ticephalic,  and  the  remainder  were  so  injured  by  the 
great  length  of  time  which  had  elapsed  since  their 
burial,  and  the  distortions  of  earth-pressure,  that  it 
was  impossible  to  determine  their  classification. 
Fifty  other  crania  were  examined  in  the  Moorehead 
and  various  other  private  collections.  Of  this 
latter  number  forty  were  brachycephalic,  twelve 
dolicocephalic,  and  six  mesaticephalic.  This  gives 
us  from  the  valleys  of  the  Big  and  Little  Miami, 
the  Scioto,  and  the  Ohio  a  total  of  seventy 
brachycephalic,  twenty-two  dolicocephalic,  and  ten 
mesaticephalic,  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  two 
crania. 

In  determining  age,  sex,  and  dentition,  the  meth 
ods  of  Broca,  Topinard,  and  Flower  were  used. 

In  thirty  males  and  five  females  from  the  Hope- 
well  Earthworks  (Scioto  valley),  the  males  were 
from  eighteen  to  seventy  years  old,  the  females, 
seventeen  to  forty-five  years,  and  children  eight  to 
fifteen  years  old. 

In  thirteen  crania  from  Foster's  we  have  eleven 
males,  from  twenty  to  seventy-five  years  of  age  ;  two 
females,  eighteen  and  thirty-nine  years  respectively. 

The  male  crania  from  Oregon ia  range  from  twenty 
to  eighty  years,  females  eighteen  to  forty-five,  chil 
dren  eleven  to  sixteen  years. 

At  Fort  Ancient,  we  are  informed  by  Mr.  Moore- 
head,  that  the  males  range  from  about  eighteen  to 
seventy-five  years  of  age,  the  females  from  about 


224  PRIMITIVE   MAN  /AT   OHIO. 

twenty-one  to  forty-eight  years,  and  the  children 
from  eight  to  fifteen  years. 

DENTITION. — The  lower  jaw  in  the  three  types  of 
crania  which  we  have  just  briefly  noted  is  somewhat 
prognathic  and  heavy,  but  exceptions  are  quite  fre 
quent.  The  direction  of  the  front  teeth  is  in  many 
instances  slightly  oblique,  ranging  from  this  to  ver 
tical.  The  chin  projects,  in  some  cases,  about  two 
millimetres,  the  height  in  front  being  greater  than 
that  of  the  last  molar ;  but  in  some  cases  the  lower 
jaws  from  Fort  Ancient,  Foster's,  and  the  valleys  of 
the  Scioto  and  Ohio  are  slightly  retreating,  their 
height  in  front  measuring  about  the  same  as  at  the 
first  molar.  We  note  a  recession  in  a  single  case  of 
one  and  a  half  millimetres  approaching  somewhat 
the  jaw  of  La  Naulette. 

The  teeth  of  the  dolicocephalic  skulls  in  the  speci 
mens  before  us  are  larger  than  the  brachycephalic. 
They  correspond  in  wear  to  the  first  and  second 
degree  of  Broca.  The  roots  of  several  molar  teeth 
from  the  lower  jaw,  measured  to  the  base  of  the 
crown,  give  one  and  a  half  centimetres.  From  the 
end  of  the  shortest  root  to  the  top  of  the  crown, 
although  much  worn,  gives  two  centimetres.  Cur 
vature  at  the  end  of  the  roots  in  the  molars,  bicus 
pids,  and  incisors  of  both  upper  and  lower  jaws  was 
remarked  in  a  great  many  of  the  teeth  from  the 
Hopewell  Earthworks.  These  peculiarities  were  also 
remarked  in  teeth  excavated  from  the  aboriginal 
cemetery  on  Burton's  farm,  Foster's.  Also  in  those 
from  Oregonia,  in  the  same  valley,  not  many  miles 
distant  from  the  last  mentioned  place. 


225 


226  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

The  teeth  of  the  brachycephalic  people  of  the 
Miami  valley  in  the  specimens  before  us  are  shorter, 
and  in  wear  correspond  to  the  first,  second,  and  third 
degrees  of  Broca  and  Topinard ;  the  second  degree 
being  marked  in  eighteen  out  of  thirty  teeth  from 
the  upper  and  lower  jaws.  The  third  degree  of 
Broca  was  remarked  in  five  out  of  thirty  crania. 
Five  of  these  were  from  the  superior  maxillary 
and  three  from  the  inferior  maxillary  bones.  The 
dental  indices  of  all  the  crania  examined  may  be 
classed  as  mesodont  according  to  the  formula  of 

T7M  d   X     IOO 

Blower,   B  N    =d. 

The  forms  of  the  alveolar  arches,  considered  accor 
ding  to  the  aspects  of  Broca,  were  as  follows :  hyper 
bolic  and  parabolic.  Parallelism  and  convergence 
were  noted  in  a  few  cases,  which,  according  to  Broca 
and  Topinard,  is  rare. 

A  supernumerary  tooth  was  noticed  in  one  instance 
at  the  inner  side  of  tlie  lower  jaw  alongside  of  the 
second  bicuspid. 

The  consolidation  of  the  roots  of  many  of  the 
teeth  of  the  upper  and  lower  jaws  was  noticeable  in 
specimens  at  the  Hope  well  Earth  works,  and  in  various 
other  localities  of  Ohio.  We  are  informed,  however, 
by  those  who  have  made  a  special  study  of  dentition, 
that  this  is  not  uncommon  among  European  and 
Ethiopian  races. 

In  this  connection,  while  considering  the  dentition 
of  the  upper  and  lower  jaws,  it  will  be  interesting 
to  mention  a  peculiar  habit  of  the  people  who  erected 
the  tumuli  at  Hopewell's  farm,  that  of  placing  along 
side  of  their  dead,  ornaments  made  of  the  superior 


CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS.  22? 

and  inferior  maxillary  bones.  In  mounds  Numbers 
Eighteen,  Twenty-three,  and  Three  at  the  above 
mentioned  earthwork,  the  upper  jaw  was  found 
placed  alongside  of  the  left  humerus  about  four 
inches  below  the  articulation  of  the  glenoid  process 
of  the  scapula.  The  specimens  in  question  (Fig.  L., 
A,  B,  E,  H)  had  been  in  two  cases  cut  across  the 
alveoli  a  little  below  the  level  of  the  incisors  and 
bicuspids,  and  in  another  instance  just  above.  The 
work  of  cutting  across  the  bone  and  teeth  had  evi 
dently  been  done  by  some  sharp  instrument,  proba 
bly  of  metal.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  speci 
mens  had  been  sawed  across  and  then  ground  down, 
but  the  incisions  are  so  sharp,  and  the  marks  of  the 
instrument  with  cutting  edge  so  plain,  that  we  deem 
this  to  be  impossible.  A  fragment  of  a  jaw  from  an 
aboriginal  cemetery  on  Burton's  farm,  which  we 
explored  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  1891,  has  two 
round  perforations,  which  extend  entirely  through 
the  bone,  one  of  these  below  the  coronoid  process 
and  the  other  a  little  in  front  of  the  dental  foramen. 
Since  then  another  specimen  of  this  kind  has  been 
discovered  with  two  perforations  on  either  side,  just 
above  the  mental  process  of  the  lower  jaw.  It  was 
found  at  Hopewell's  Earthworks  in  mound  Number 
Three.  The  specimen  in  question  has  been  for 
warded  to  Chicago,  where  it  will  be  exhibited  at  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition.  The  other  speci 
men  of  a  perforated  inferior  maxillary  is  in  our  own 
possession.  The  total  number  of  these  specimens 
discovered  is  three  incised  superior  maxillary  bones 
and  two  perforated  inferior  maxillary  bones,  one 


228  PRIMITIVE   MAN  IN   OHIO. 

from  the  Scioto  valley  and  the  other  from  that  of 
the  Little  Miami. 

The  bones  of  the  brachycephalic  peoples  that  we 
have  examined  from  various  parts  of  Ohio  indicate 
that  they  were  strongly  built,  their  height  averaging 
about  five  feet  four  to  five  feet  six  inches,  basing  our 
calculations  upon  the  length  of  the  femur  (Fig.  LIL), 
as  .275  of  the  height  of  the  skeleton.  The  largest 
skeleton  of  the  brachycephali  discovered  measured 
six  feet  one  inch. 

The  height  of  the  dolicocephali  examined  aver 
aged  about  five  feet  two  inches. 

The  humeri  of  the  male  skeletons  are  strong  and 
frequently  twisted,  especially  those  from  Foster's, 
Oregonia,  and  Fort  Ancient.  At  Hope  well's  Earth 
works,  the  frequency  of  perforation  of  the  olecranou 
(Fig.  LI.)  is  remarkable.  Variations  are  to  be  no 
ticed  in  the  shape  of  these  perforations.  In  some, 
the  bones  of  both  sides  are  perforated,  others  on  one 
side  only ;  perforations  of  the  left  side  predominat 
ing.  Sixteen  perforated  humeri  out  of  fifty-four 
skeletons  that  were  fit  for  examination  give  us  a 
percentage  of  34^.  Of  these  fourteen  humeri,  eleven 
were  of  males  and  four  of  females ;  one  of  a  child.  The 
humeri  of  three  skeletons  were  perforated  on  both 
sides ;  two  on  the  right  side,  and  the  remainder  on 
the  left  side.  At  Hopewell's,  the  majority  of  per 
forations  of  the  humerus  were  observed  on  the  skel 
etons  of  the  short-headed  people.  It  is  not  impos 
sible,  as  suggested  by  learned  authorities  on  the 
subject,  that  perforations  of  this  kind  were  produced 
by  impact  of  the  coronoid  or  olecranon  processes  of 


22Q 


23O  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO, 

the  ulna.  In  one  case,  especially,  from  mound  Number 
Thirty-five,  Hopewell's  Earthworks,  it  has  been  sug 
gested  that  the  sharp  elongated  spine  of  the  latter 
process  (olecranon)  had  produced  it,  as  it  projects 
much  farther  into  the  opening  than  in  some  other 
specimens  of  this  collection.  It  would  be  safer,  how 
ever,  to  consider  that  it  may  be  caused  by  a  defi 
ciency  of  bone  structure  in  the  olecranon  fossa,  for  it 
is  wanting  in  some  of  the  mammalia,  and  evidently 
not  produced  by  continued  extension  of  the  forearm. 

Incurvation  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  ulna  is  to 
be  remarked  in  eleven  specimens. 

The  femur  (Fig.  LIL),  in  the  male  skeleton  of  the 
long-  and  short-headed  people,  is  generally  thick  and 
strong  and  the  linea  aspera  carinated. 

Channelled  fibulae,  with  enlarged  grooves,  and  the 
femur  a  colonne,  are  to  be  remarked  in  several  cases 
at  Fort  Ancient. 

Platycnemism  is  to  be  remarked  in  numerous  cases. 
Of  one  hundred  tibiae  from  the  various  localities  men 
tioned  in  this  chapter,  when  compared  with  those  of 
Europeans,  eighteen  were  flattened  and  ten  bent. 
The  flattest  tibiae,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  were  on 
the  left  side. 

The  tibiae,  when  compared  with  those  of  Euro 
peans,  were  found  to  exceed  the  latter  in  length  in 
many  cases ;  a  distinct  majority  being  noticed  among 
those  of  the  stone-grave  people  of  Fort  Ancient,  and 
those  of  the  tumuli  at  Hopewell's  Group. 

Fracture  of  the  humerus  was  noted  in  two  cases 
at  Hopewell's  Earthwork,  and  of  the  radius  and  ulna 
in  three  specimens  from  Foster's.  The  injuries  of 


CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS. 


231 


the  bones,  from  the  latter  place?  had  been  quite 
skilfully  treated.  Figure  LIV.,  A  and  B  shows  the 
two  fractures. 

An  anterior  dislocation  of  the  head  of  the  right 
huinerus  from  a  mound  in  the   Scioto  valley   had 

A 


FIG.  LII. — Skulls  and  femura,  fragmentary.      Hopewell's.      See  pages  221 

and  228. 

evidently  baffled  the  skill  of  the  medicine-man,  who 
did  not  succeed  in  resetting  it  (Fig.  LIV.,  E).  The 
glenoid  cavity  has  been  absorbed  and  a  new  cavity 


232  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

for  articulation  been  formed  on  the  inner  side  of  the 
neck  of  the  scapula,  extending  from  the  attachment 
of  the  triceps  muscle  to  within  one  centimetre  of  the 
coracoid  process.  A  new  formation  of  bone  is  to  be 
remarked  upon  the  anterior  surface  of  the  head  of 
the  humerus,  consisting  of  a  plate  of  bone  three  and 
a  half  centimetres  long,  and  as  many  broad.  Its  sur 
face  is  convex  and  fits  into  the  new  articular  cavity. 
The  motion  of  the  arm  must  have  been  somewhat 
limited. 

Certain  occipital  bones  in  our  collection  from  the 
Little  Miami,  Muskingum,  Scioto,  and  Ohio  valleys, 
we  think,  present  anomalies  of  the  cerebral  surface. 
It  is  impossible  to  obtain  material  for  comparison 
with  European  races,  situated  as  we  are  at  present 
in  the  exploration  camp  at  North  Fork  of  Paint 
Creek,  yet  some  of  the  peculiarities  are  so  marked 
that  a  short  description  may  be  interesting  to  the 
archaeologist.  There  is  an  abnormal  enlargement  of 
the  cerebral  and  cerebellar  fossae  in  several  cases 
(see  Fig.  XLIX.,  r),  sometimes  on  one  side  of  the 
crucial  ridge  and  sometimes  on  the  other.  Out  of 
the  six  occipital  bones  in  our  collection,  enlargements 
of  the  fossae  which  receive  the  posterior  lobes  of  the 
cerebrum  are  to  be  noticed  on  the  left  side  and  one 
on  the  right.  The  two  inferior  fossae,  which  receive 
the  hemispheres  of  the  cerebellum,  are  enlarged,  viz. : 
three  on  the  left  of  the  occipital  sinus  and  one  on 
its  ris;ht  side.  The  sinuses  between  the  four  fossae 

o 

named  are  frequently  distorted,  and  the  internal 
occipital  protuberance,  which  is  generally  poorly 
developed,  is  placed  to  one  side  or  the  other,  the 


CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS.  233 

corresponding  fossae  on  the  opposite  side  being 
reduced  in  size,  and  in  some  cases  almost  obliterated. 
Corresponding  slight  protuberances  on  the  exterior 
surface  of  the  occipital  bone  generally  mark  the  site 
of  the  depressions  within ;  in  some  cases,  however, 
there  is  scarcely  any  indication,  the  superior  and 
inferior  curved  lines  being  quite  broad  and  thick, 
and  the  occipital  protuberance  for  the  attachment  of 
the  ligamentum  nuchce  enlarged.  It  is  true  that  the  two 
inferior  fossae  of  the  internal  surface  of  the  occipital, 
in  the  normal  condition,  are  the  largest  of  the  four 
to  be  found  in  this  bone,  but  marked  changes  in 
depth  and  size  in  either  of  these  fossae,  or  in  those 
that  support  the  posterior  lobes  of  the  cerebrum, 
together  with  the  distortion  of  the  sinuses,  are  cer 
tainly  interesting.  Whether  it  is  due  to  cradle 
pressure,  as  suggested  by  a  professional  friend  in 
Cincinnati,  we  are  not  prepared  to  say.  The 
anomaly  has  been  found  in  specimens  from  several 
parts  of  Ohio,  widely  separated,  as  already  men 
tioned,  and  it  would  be  valuable  to  know  what 
number  and  type  of  crania  there  are  in  museums 
possessing  the  same  peculiarities.  It  can,  of  course, 
be  studied  best  in  disarticulated  or  broken  skulls. 
Certain  it  is,  that  the  endocranial  surface  of  the 
skulls  of  our  aboriginal  people  ought  to  be  more 
seriously  compared  with  those  of  other  races,  and 
any  differences  that  may  exist,  however  slight,  should 
be  carefully  noted. 

The  peculiar  American  characteristics  of  the 
occipital  bone,  somewhat  flattened  externally  and 
internally,  presenting  the  "  Aymarian  depression," 


234  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  omo. 

has  been  observed  in  quite  a  number  of  cases  in 
crania  excavated  from  the  mounds  and  graves  of  the 
Big  and  Little  Miami  valleys,  the  Scioto,  and  in  the 
crania  before  us  from  different  portions  of  Ohio. 

Crania  excavated  from  different  portions  of  the 
mound  areas  of  the  United  States  have  been  noted 
in  which  incisions  have  been  made  in  various  regions 
of  the  skull.  A  cranium  found  in  an  interment  at 
Hope  well's  Earthwork,  placed  alongside  of  the 
skeleton  of  a  brachy cephalic  type,  upon  examination 
was  found  to  have  been  perforated  (Fig.  XLVIII.) 
through  the  occipital  bone,  at  a  distance  of  about  a 
centimetre  and  a  half  to  the  left-hand  side  of  the  fora 
men  magnum.  The  incision  was  quite  small,  perhaps 
three  millimetres  in  width,  and  was  evidently  post 
mortem  in  character.  This  peculiarity  of  perforating 
the  different  bones  of  the  skull  with  small  incisions, 
to  which  reference  has  already  been  made  in  this 
chapter,  is  interesting,  and,  so  far  as  we  are  aware, 
peculiar  to  the  aborigines  who  built  Hopewell's 
Earthwork  in  the  Scioto  valley. 

The  collection  of  bones  which  we  have  been  con 
sidering;  has.  of  course,  as  among;  other  races,  indica- 

O  '  '  O  / 

tions  of  morbid  changes  due  to  forms  of  inflammation, 
such  as  periostitis,  osteitis,  caries,  exostosis,  sclerosis, 
etc.  We  have  also  noticed  several  cases  of  curvature 
of  the  tibiae  (Fig.  LIII.)  approaching,  somewhat,  to  the 
degree  shown  in  the  illustrations  of  Fournier,  and  des 
ignated  by  this  distinguished  specialist  "Lame-de- 
Sabre."  Another  pair  of  tibiae  excavated  from  the  lower 
level  of  mound  Number  Twenty-three,  Hopewell's 


235 


236  PRIMITIVE  MAN-  IN  OHIO. 

Earthwork,  indicate  a  diseased  condition  of  the  bone. 
These  were  forwarded  to  Chicago  and  it  was  impos 
sible  to  examine  them,  except  in  a  superficial  manner, 
in  the  short  time  that  elapsed  between  their  exhuma 
tion  and  their  shipment  west.  We  hesitate  to  say 
that  any  of  the  remains  of  the  people  before  us  show 
indications  of  specific  affections.  There  is  an 
absence  of  gummatous  and  nodular  lesions  of  the 
various  sizes  and  conditions  which  is  peculiar  to 
bone  syphilis.  Neither  are  the  larger  lesions,  which 
are  found  in  laminated  and  eburnated  conditions, 
present.  The  osseous  material  which  we  have  ex 
amined  from  Fort  Ancient,  Oregonia,  arid  the  Scioto 
valley  mounds,  is  remarkably  free  from  syphilitic 
indications.  We  have  to  note,  however,  some  ex 
ceptions  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  valley  of  the 
Little  Miami,  where  there  is  a  slight  suggestion  of 
specific  taint  in  the  bones,  namely,  the  fragments  of 
a  skull  found  at  the  Madisonville  cemetery,  and  por 
tions  of  crania  from  an  aboriginal  bury  ing-place  on 
Burton's  farm,  near  Maineville,  Ohio.  The  frag 
ments  from  Madisonville  cemetery  are  those  of  a  left 
parietal,  probably  that  of  a  female.  It  was  excavated 
during  a  visit  made  to  the  spot  in  the  summer  of 
1890,  from  the  Peabody  Museum  camp  at  the  Turner 
group  of  mounds,  not  far  distant  from  Batavia  Junc 
tion.  Certain  degenerations  in  the  cerebral  surface 
of  this  bone  may  be  the  result  of  gummatous  involve 
ment.  The  indications,  however,  require  comparison 
with  other  material,  which  at  present  it  is  impossible 
to  obtain.  The  two  frontal  bones  from  Burton's 
farm  have  small  nodes  of  bone  on  their  exterior  sur- 


CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS. 


237 


faces  and  certain  indications  of  the  cerebral  surface 
which  may  or  may  not  be  specific,  but  well  merit 
the  careful  study  of  a  specialist.  One  of  the  most 
thorough  articles  yet  written  upon  pre-Columbian 
syphilis  in  America 1  is  that  of  Professor  Hyde  of 


FIG.  Liv. — Fracture  of  head  of  humerus,  and  of  the  ulnae.      See  page  231. 

Chicago.  Those  of  our  readers,  especially  the 
anthropologists,  who  may  be  interested  upon  the 
subject,  will  do  well  to  read  this  carefully  prepared 
contribution  to  science. 


1  See  the  American   Journal  of  the  Medical  Sciences  for  August,  1891, 
edited  by  Edward  P.  Davis,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Philadelphia. 


238  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

Exostoses  of  the  external  auditory  meatus  are  to 
be  remarked  in  seven  out  of  fifty  skulls  examined. 
The  cerebral  surfaces  of  several  of  the  crania  suggest 
that  inflammatory  action  may  have  caused  certain  in 
dications  that  are  present,  but  this  cannot  well  be 
determined  on  account  of  the  decayed  condition  of 
the  bone. 

Ankylosis  of  axis  and  the  third  cervical  vertebra 
is  to  be  noticed  in  a  single  instance,  and  partial  osteo- 
arthritis  of  the  spinal  column  in  two  cases. 

One  case  of  marked  indentation  of  the  skull  is  to 
be  seen  in  a  cranium  from  Foster's,  Ohio.  It  is  in 
the  angle  formed  by  the  interparietal  and  occipito- 
parietal  sutures.  The  inner  table  of  the  skull  had 
only  been  slightly  injured,  repair  having  taken 
place. 

The  average  capacity  of  twenty-five  crania,  given 
in  the  table  at  the  end  of  this  chapter,  is  1319  c.  c., 
even  below  the  average  of  the  much  flattened  skulls 
with  an  index  at  or  over  .900,  quoted  by  Mr.  Carr 
from  Dr.  Jones'  collection,1  standing  between  three 
of  the  series  of  Mr.  Carr's  measurements  of  stone- 
grave  crania,  viz. : 

302  18  15 

1341  c.  c.,  1335  c.  c.,  and  1284  c.  c.  (the  latter  av 
erage  probably  female).  The  maximum  capacity,  it 
will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  table,  is  1 600  c.  c., 
the  minimum  capacity  is  1118  c.  c.,  and  the  range  is 
482.  The  mean  capacity  of  the  whole  is  therefore 
less  than  that  of  the  American  Indian,  or  1376  c.  c., 

1  Eleventh  Ann.  Rep.  Peabody  Museum,  vol.  ii.,  No.  2,  page  378. 

2  These  small  figures  denote  the  number  of  crania  measured  in  Carr's 
tables.     See  pp.  368-373  (ibid.). 


CRANIA  AND  SKELETONS.  239 

and  greater  than  that  of  the  ancient  Peruvian,  which 
is  only  1250  c.  c. 

The  rest  of  the  crania  referred  to  in  this  chapter, 
from  Ohio,  numbering  one  hundred  and  two  speci 
mens,  are  in  such  a  condition,  from  the  effects  of 
earth  pressure  and  long  burial,  that  the  exactitude 
of  measurements  is  out  of  the  question. 

The  majority  of  the  crania  are  microcephalic. 

Nine  of  the  twenty-five  skulls  are  platyrhine,  six 
are  leptorhine,  and  six  mesorhine. 

The  range  of  the  cephalic  index  is  .121,  or  .774  to 
.895.  The  average  of  the  index  of  breadth  is  .837. 
The  total  of  skulls  with  an  index  above  .800  is 
twenty-one.  Those  with  an  index  between  .750  and 
.800  are  four  in  number. 

Conclusions. 

The  skeletons  of  the  brachycephalic  people  in  the 
collections  examined  from  the  Great  and  Little 
Miami  valleys,  and  those  of  the  Scioto  and  Ohio, 
suggest  that  they  were  strong  and  well  built,  and  in 
stature  slightly  superior  to  the  dolicocephali. 

No  skeletons  of  gigantic  size  were  discovered,  and 
there  is  but  little  doubt  that  the  progenitors  of  the 
American  race  were  in  height  subject  to  the  same 
variations  in  stature  which  are  to  be  remarked  among 
our  recent  tribes. 

In  anatomical  peculiarities,  the  people  of  the 
Scioto,  Ohio,  and  Great  and  Little  Miami  valleys 
closely  resemble  those  of  the  stone-grave  people  of 
Tennessee,  and  are  in  all  probability  but  a  prolonga- 


240  PRIMITIVE  MAN  IN  OHIO. 

tion  of  that  short-headed  stock  northward  into  the 
localities  named. 

In  some  of  the  large  mounds,  especially  those  of 
Hope  well's  Earthwork  in  the  Scioto  valley,  and 
mounds  of  the  Little  Miami  valley,  the  crania  are 
remarkable  for  their  great  thickness  and  low,  retreat 
ing,  narrow  foreheads,  with  heavy  superciliary  ridges, 
these  at  times  being  replaced  by  a  flat  plane  similar 
to  that  shown  in  Fig.  XLIX.,  E,  running  backward 
somewhat  horizontally,  and  then  losing  itself  in  the 
rest  of  the  frontal  bone  as  it  mounts  toward  the 
parietals.  The  sketch  given  is  a  faithful  reproduc 
tion  of  the  fragment  of  a  cranium  now  in  our  posses 
sion  from  mound  Number  Three. 

We  cannot  overlook  the  fact  that  the  crania  and 
skeletons  examined  by  us,  many  of  them  excavated 
by  our  own  hands,  approach,  somewhat,  the  negro 
in  their  anatomical  characteristics.  They  are  those 
of  an  inferior  race  with  strong  meso-  and  brachy-ce- 
phalic  affinities.  None  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
Mongolian  or  of  Mongoloid  types  are  present  in  any 
of  the  Ohio  crania  which  we  have  examined.  They 
are  evidently  those  of  a  people  whose  racial  type 
was  created  and  fixed  on  the  American  continent — 
in  other  words,  the  American  Race. 


CRANIA  AND 


24I 


MEASUREMENTS   OF    CRANIA   FROM    MOUNDS  AND  STONE 
GRAVES  OF  OHIO,1     .780-800  +  . 


1 

~  ! 

«• 

'2 

c 

W 

"5 

So 

6 

c 

V. 

h 

J" 

£/ 

"H    !  **-* 

c 

•~          Where  From. 

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1 

u 

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1 

1   i2 

£                 0        J 

£ 

S 

c 

53 

1 

1 

I         1150158 

137 

135 

.860 

.891 

.5637 

35 

87  Little  Miami  Valley 

2 

3 

1300  164 
1385167 

133 
132 

126 
141 

.835 

•774 

.769 

.815 

.5241 
.4241 

3890 
3498 

*  4 

4 

1390  1  70'  1  39 

133 

.815 

.783 

•  5243 

92 

" 

5 

1210  168,122 

142 

.812 

.780 

.5740 

3i 

96 

" 

6 

1600  170  147 

140 

.895 

.802 

.4837 

3786 

" 

7 

1490  169  135 

132 

.820 

.763 

•52|39 

32 

84  Great  Miami  Valley 

8 

I2IO 

l62  129  130 

.835 

.784 

.5438 

3887 

" 

9 

I5OO 

170 

145 

140 

.865 

.810 

.4838 

31 

84 

10 

1335 

1  6O 

146 

147 

.825 

.839 

•  45  37 

37 

39 

" 

ii 

1250 

I69I35 

128 

.840 

.894 

.6043 

37 

84 

" 

12 
13 

1490 
1125 

165  148 

175  133 

137 

130 

.889 
.805 

.802 

.763 

•54383291 
.59423786 

;; 

14 

1330 

159140 

137 

.890 

.867 

•  45  37 

33 

90 

" 

15 

1215 

167  135 

129 

.812 

.827 

.60  40  38 

Ml 

Scioto  Valley 

16 

1345 

175  132 

127 

.880 

.790 

•45140 

94 

1  ' 

17 

1483 

176,139 

135 

•  789 

•  775 

.4938 

$2 

93 

" 

18 

1210 

1118 

178  143 
162  145 

130 
136 

.865 

.882 

.825 
.845 

.50423697 
.60  '37,31  92 

'  ' 

20 

1450 

175  134 

138 

•  757 

.779 

•  45  42  38 

90 

" 

21 

1290  1  66 

135 

130 

.800 

.789 

•4839 

3491  Ohio  Valley 

22 

1360  169 

142 

137 

.840 

.811 

•  5935  37 

90 

" 

23 

1147  162  143  131 

.880 

.845 

.493831 

83 

" 

24 

1330  157  141 

138 

.885 

.865 

.444137 

92 

" 

25 

1275  162  134 

130 

.787 

.778 

•  49  39  32 

84 

" 

Average, 

1319167137 

134 

.837 

.811 

•51  39 

J4 

89 

Total  of  Brachycephalic 

Maximum, 

1600  178,148 

147 

.895 

.894 

.6043 

J8 

skulls  --  21. 

Minimum, 

IIlS  157  122 

126 

•  774 

.763 

•  42  35 

J] 

Mesaticephalic  =  4. 

Range, 

482 

21 

26 

21 

.121 

.231 

.18    8 

7 

1  The  measures  of  capacity  are   in   cubic  centimetres  taken  with  selected 
peas.     The  other  measurements  are  in  millimetres  and  decimals. 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  I).,  2 

Aboriginal  man,  30 

Alluvial  bottom,  22 

Altar,  contents  of,  26 

Ancient  Monuments  of  the  J/iss 

ii 

Anklets  of  copper,  n<> 
Antelope  horns  found  in  grave 
Appey,  Prof.,  18 
Ash-bed,  86,  130 
Asheo,  preservative  quality  of, 
Ash-pits,  17,  23,  25,  51,  54 
Austin  farm,  no 

B 

Baryte,  35 

Beads  of  pearl,  128 

Bear  Creek,  22 

Bituminous  coal,  32 

Black  flint  implement,  2 

"  Blocking  out  "  shop,  42 

Bone  awl,  62 

Bracelet  of  copper,  155 

Brachycephalic  race,  57 

Brown  County,  69,  74 

Brush  Creek,  21 

Buckhorn  Creek,  5 

Burials,  90,  96,   102 

Burned  earth  and  charcoal,  70 

Burton  farms,  224,  227 

Busycon  shells,  18,  1  86 

C 
Ccesar  Creek,  82,  101 


87 


Cannel  coal,  32 

Carr,  Lucien,  216 

Cat's  Creek,  26 

Celt  of  Greenstone,  62 

Ceremonial  stone,  no 

Chalcedony,  17,  31,  38,  65,  155 


I  Charcoal,  flakes,  63 


layers,  60 

Child's  skeleton,  53,  Sb 
Chillicothe,  113 
Chipped  limestone  pebble,  4 
Clinton  County,  79,  107 
Cloud  Hopewell  Farm,  184 
Columbia  County,  14 
Cooper,  W.  F.,  95 
Copper,  beads,  169 

bracelets,  23 

Coshocton  County  quarries,  43 
Cowen  Creek,  109,  no 
Crania  and  skeletons,  204,  210 
Cremated  bodies,  24,  120,  141 
Cresson,  Dr.,  20 
Curwen,  Mr.,  78 


D 

Darke  and  Shelby  counties,  14 
Davis,  estate,  23 

Willard  II.,  21 
Dentition,  224 
Disks  of  flint,  189 
Doliocephali,  20,  21,  112 
Doliocephalic,  crania,  29,  57,  199,  219 

stock,  19 

Drainage  system,  41 
Duck  Creek,  94 

243 


244 


INDEX. 


E 

Earthenware  vessels,  24,  84 
Earthworks,  12,  37 
East  Fork  tumuli,  59 
Eden  Park  Museum,  57 
Elliptical  stone  mound,  22 
Excavations,  31,  37,  42,  44,  80,  92 
near  Chillicothe,  144 

F 

Femur  ft  colonne,  230 
Flint,  deposits,  31,  44 

Ridge,  31 

Formation  of  rock  flint,  47 
Fort,  Ancient,  51,  80,  197,  223 

Hill,  13 

Fowke,  Mr.,  20 
Franklin  Township,  32 


Galena,  74 

Glaciers  in  Alaska,  1 1 
Graham,  A.  A.,  6 
Granville,  12 
Graves,  62,  79,  95 
Guest  tablet,  108 

II 

Hall,  Mrs.  Mary,  24 
Hematite  objects,  25,  27 
Hollow  tombs,  94 
Hopewell,  earthwork,  208,  228 

group,  109 

tumuli,  184 
Hughes,  John,  98 
Hutchison  farm,  75 

K 

"Kitchen-middens,"  85 
Kittaning  coal,  32 


I. 


Lake  Erie,  early  inhabitants,  14 
"  Lame-de-Sabre,"  234 


La  Naulette,  224 
Licking  County,  13,  18,  28 
Little  Miami  River,  104,  206 
Loess  deposits,  4 
Long  heads,  20 
;  Loveland,  4 

M 

|  Madisonville,  2 
cemetery,  49 
crematory,  208 

Man's  occupancy  of  America,  9 
Mastodon  Amcricanus,  52 
Maumee  River,  15 
Mesaticephalic  crania,  219 
Metz,  Dr.  C.  L.,  2,  4,  56 
Miami  valley,  65 
Microscopic  organic  bodies,  46 
Mill  Creek,  4 
Mills,  W.  C.,  5 
Mississippi    and    Cumberland    valley, 

206 

Moorehead,  Mr.,  So 
Morgan  County,  21 
Mound,  builders,  202 
Mounds,  on  Davis  estate,  24 

on  Tighlman  Porter's  estate,  115 
on  Worthington  estate,  161 
near  slate  mills,  158 
No.  38,  p.  130 

Nos.  34,  35,  36,  pp.  146,  147 
No.  37,  p.  151 
No.  39,  p.  155 
No.  45,  p.  158 
No.  40,  p.  162 
No.  41,  p.  165 
No.  42,  p.  167 
No.  41,  p.  168 
No.  43,  p.  168 
Muskingum,  River,  12 

valley,  198 
Myer,  W.  G.,  107 

I  N 

Newark    Fair     Ground      Enclosures, 
1 6 


INDEX. 


New  Comerstown,  5,  7 

North  Fork  of  Paint  Creek.  114, 

212 


Objects  buried  with  children,  96 

Obsidian,  30 

Old  Fort,  104 

Opossum  Mound,  16 

Oregonia,  106 

Ornaments  in   mounds,   38,    54,    124, 

146,  189 

Os  iiidz  of  Anoutchine,  217 
Ossa  apicis  of  Virchow,  218 

P 

Paleolithic  type  of  Southern  France 

and  Southern  England,  6 
Palseoliths,  4,  6,  8 
Patina,  J 

Peabody  Museum,  56 
Perry  Township,  45,  67 
Pipe  of  granite,  188 

Pit,  43 

Pocket  post-holes, 
Porter,  Tighlman,  115 
Pots,  22,  131 
Pottery,  22,  87,  in 

Field,  50 

Pre-Columbian  inhabitants,  20 
"  Pterion  in  H  "  of  Broca,  222 
Putnam,  Hill  limestone,  32 

Prof.  F.W.,  2,  13,  56,  105- 
Pvrula  shell,  137 


Q 


(Quarries,  3 
(Quartz  crystals,  35 


R 


Raccoon  Creek,  19 
Redman  and  Janes  farms,  145 
Richardson  pottery,  107,  in 
Rix  Mills,  13 


Ross  County,  145 
Rush  baskets,  18 


Sandstone  tablets,  24,  25 

Sarcophagi,  101 

Scenery  around  Chillicothe,  144 

Sea  shells,  nS,  120 
Semicircle  of  mounds,  13 
Serpent  Mound,  75 
Shawnee,  Indians,  98,  105 

relics,  114 

Shell  beads,  132,  169 
Short  heads,  21,  28 
Simeon  Cass  farm,  107 
Skeletons,   24,   25,  51,  55,  61,  64,  72, 
81,   88,    101,   105,   118,  153,  167, 

171 

Slate  objects,  24,  28 
South  Fork  cemetery,  104 
Spells,  37 

Squier  and  Davis  maps,  12 
Stockaded  villages,  40 
Stone  memorials,  17,  24 
Sunfish  Hills,  13 

T 

Tablets,  56,  108 
Taylor's  Mound,  25,  102 
Thurston,  Gen.  G.  P.,  94,  100,  105 
T  odd's  Fork,  109 
Tools,  42 

Trees,  growth  above  village  site,  98 
Tunnels,  n,  12,  60 
Tuscarawas,  5 

U 

Upper  village  site,  92 
V 

Vessel  of  clay,  78 

Village  sites,   12,   15,    16,   18,  19,  22, 

23,  27,  84,  86 


246 


INDEX. 


W 


Walhonding  River,  43 

Wayne  Township,  67 

Welsh  Hills,  16 

Wilmington,  109,  no 

Wilson,  Dr.  Thos.,  206 

World's,  Columbian  Exposition,  Si 


Fair  at  Oregonia,  101 
Wormian  bones,  217 
Wright,  Prof.  G.  F.,  i,  6 
Wyandot  County,  15 


Zanesville  road,  37 


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